Sailor Moon Black Moon Clan Alternate Rewrite
by Sailor Mars Fanatic
Summary: Here is the third part of my trilogy based upon the early Sailor Moon series as covered by Dic in the old English Dub. I present my version of the Black Moon Clan for your enjoyment.
1. Chapter 1

CHAPTER 1

It was exactly ten days since Sailor Moon and the others had defeated the alien invasion and restored Darien's memories. Now he and Serena were enjoying a nice boat ride together out on the lake in Mr. Baxter's park. As he pulled gently on the oars, Serena looked into his face and said swooningly, "Oh Darien. This is so romantic. I love spending time together with you."  
Darien smiled in return. "I do too. You make my life so perfectly complete."  
They leaned in together for a gentle kiss very carefully so as not to upset the boat.

In the meantime the mysterious little girl with pink hair was being handed a big, blue ball and a key on a chain around her neck by the tall woman with green-black hair. "Take these with you Small Lady and good luck," she said opening the big door.  
The little girl thanked her and just as she plunged through the doorway a very loud voice shouted out.  
"There she is Rubeus. We've been searching everywhere for her."  
The woman shut the door behind the little girl to behold three figures standing several feet away from her.  
There was a man with a head of bushy red hair the colour of a bright red ruby. He was the one referred to as Rubeus. Two strange women stood on his right and his left. One of them had a weird yellow horn protruding from her forehead and she had a large two-sided drum strapped in front of her. It was she who had yelled out.  
The other had light-blue skin and hair and a very much larger curved yellow horn in her forehead.

But the woman stood in front of the door brandishing her scythe and declared, "You are too late. Rini, otherwise known as Small Lady is on her way to the past in the 21st Century and I won't let you follow her."  
The woman with the drum prepared to bang it with her drumsticks and the other woman moved forward as if to charge with her horn.  
Rubeus laid a cautioning hand each on their shoulders. "Wait Thunderclap and Hypnotica. Don't be so rash. She is literally a one woman army. She could kill you both in an instant with her immense power."  
The woman held her scythe before her and said, "That is correct. My death scream is potent and never fails to destroy its intended target. That is why the Queen of Crystal Tokyo asked me as a personal favour to guard this door to time. I will strike you all dead rather then let you follow Small Lady."  
Rubeus said, "Very well. We're off. But even though we can't use that door we still have time travel abilities of our own bestowed upon us by our mentors. We don't need to throw our lives away for nothing."  
As soon as he said this Hypnotica and Thunderclap smiled and turned to follow Rubeus.

As they left the woman sighed. She could have killed those three before they left but she wasn't a cold-blooded killer. Her duty was to guard the door but she hoped that Small Lady would be all right. She wouldn't leave her post but she couldn't stop the enemy employing their own means to follow their prey. She would do her very best to help and guide her friend through the communications she had given her.

At that very moment the little girl and her ball appeared out of thin air above Serena and Darien's boat. While they were having their gentle kiss Darien was surprised as the ball gently landed on his head and fell onto the bottom of the boat behind Serena. But a split second later the girl herself fell on top of Serena pushing her painfully face down into the boat with a crash. Darien found the girl suddenly embraced in his arms and the shock and surprise made him fall backwards out of the boat with her. The splash sent a wave of water flying up into the boat drenching Serena and she rose spluttering in a daze.  
Darien still holding the girl, lifted her as a gentleman into the boat before holding onto the edge and carefully pulling himself inside really fast without tipping it over too much. As he struggled to get onto the seat maintaining the vessel's equilibrium he asked the girl, "Where did you come from kid? Did you fall from a balloon or something?"  
"I'm very sorry sir," she apologized but Serena was extremely annoyed and also rather perplexed when she took a closer look at her.  
"Hey! You look like me! And you also have my hairstyle!"  
To this the girl replied, "It's my mother's hairstyle."  
"What did you just say?" Serena gasped.  
But the little girl suddenly became stern and looking at her said, "Never mind. I can tell be your hairstyle that you must have the Silver Imperium Crystal. Give it to me."  
Serena was suddenly flabbergasted and practically shrieked, "WHAT?"  
"You heard me. I want that Silver Crystal and I want it now."  
"How do you possibly know about the Silver Crystal?" Serena cried thinking of her transformation locket concealed inside her clothes.  
Darien was also getting nervous and worried but before he could say or do anything the girl threw herself at Serena grabbing and grappling with her like a wild tiger. "I want that crystal!"  
As Serena screamed and tried to fight back, Darien attempted to intervene and the boat was completely overturned, hurling the three of them into the water. The girl took hold of the key around her neck and rose into the air leaving Serena and Darien flailing in the water. As her ball floated up next to her she cried out, "This is not over. I will get what I desperately need." Then in a flash of light she was gone.

Darien helped Serena swim to shore, then he saw to it that the overturned boat was safely retrieved by the man in charge of the rowboat hire while Serena checked and saw to her immense relief that her locket was safely tucked inside its pocket. What a close call. "I'll have to go straight home and get changed now," she thought. "Grr. My little brother Sammy will tease me when I have to admit I accidentally fell into the boating lake. Thanks to that mysterious brat. Who does she think she is anyway? I'll never let her have my crystal."

Meanwhile in some mysterious place in a huge crystal palace a group of strange people were gathered before a figure seated on a throne hidden in shadows. "Rubeus! Come forward!" called the obscure stranger and Rubeus stepped forward and bowed on one knee.  
"At your service my prince."  
The shadowy prince gave further command. "Catzi! You and your sisters also come forward!"  
Four women also approached. They, like Rubeus, had a strange symbol upon their foreheads. It looked like a black upside-down crescent moon. It also resembled the shape of a frowning mouth.  
They prostrated themselves on one knee two on each side with Rubeus in the middle. "We are yours to command," said one with a mop of black hair. She was Catzi and part of her hair style even looked something like two pointy cats' ears.  
The strange prince said, "I will allow our mentors, my trusted advisors, to speak my commands for me."  
With that a pair of similar looking, sinister hooded figures materialized at the foot of the throne. One was waving his spectral hands in front of a crystal ball and the other was holding a hideous scythe making him resemble the Grim Reaper. The one with the crystal ball spoke first. "I, the Wiseman and my colleague, the Grim Man, have seen that Neo-Queen Serenity's daughter has escaped into the old city of Tokyo nine centuries into the past. She is searching for the Silver Imperium Crystal. She cannot be allowed to find it. It will free the queen and all her people. Your hold over Crystal Tokyo must not be overthrown."  
The Grim Man spoke in turn. "We appoint you Rubeus and you four sisters to be entrusted with the task of going back in a spaceship time machine and capturing her. Dead or alive."  
Rubeus spoke for them all. "We swear to succeed Wiseman and Grim Man."  
The Wiseman resumed his speech. "Then all of you rise up onto your feet. We also command that half of our Droid Warrior force accompany you, while the other half stay behind to oversee all our prisoners and fight against those who still threaten to rebel against us. Choose who you want to go with you."

Rubeus turned and smiled. "Who else would I pick but my loyal friends, Thunderclap and Hypnotica?" The two women who had accompanied him earler were already approaching him. They knew he was going to ask for them.  
One of Catzi's sisters immediately spoke up. "I also have my choice already made. My very best friends Droido and Frosty."  
Two other ladies came running with open arms and the three of them all cuddled laughing. "We knew you'd pick us Birdy."  
"There was never any doubt at all."  
Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica frowned heavily. They disapproved of the way this other trio showed affection. They considered themselves to be friends, but they thought it undignified to cuddle and giggle together like that.  
The Grim Man said, "Very well. You other three sisters make one choice each and that will finalize your team."  
Catzi said, "I choose Rhonda."  
One of her other sisters said, "I choose Jellax."  
The last sister said, "I choose Avocado."  
Once the team was all gathered the Wiseman said, "All of you prepare to leave at once. Your ship will be ready for departure in half an hour."  
They all raised their right fists in the air and shouted, "We will succeed for our prince and for the desire of revenge we all mutually share with him!"

Getting back to Serena, she had more shocks in store for her when she arrived home. Her parents were sympathetic to hear about her accident at the boating lake and indeed as she had feared, her brother Sammy couldn't resist following her up the stairs teasing her a little as she headed to get changed in the bathroom. He laughed and said, "Next time you go boating you should ask if they can let you use a submarine Serena. Then maybe you'll manage to stay dry at least if you suddenly lose control of it. Better have a radio to call for help if you get stuck on the bottom of the lake though. HA HA!"  
"Can it Sammy!" Serena snapped, though at the same time Sammy was actually rather helpful in that he went into her room and gathered some fresh clothes to slip through the bathroom door's open crack while Serena made herself dry. She handed out the wet clothes for him to carry down to the laundry after she carefully placed her dry clothes on top of the lavatory with the seat lid down so they wouldn't get wet or crumpled. Serena realized even Sammy genuinely loved her at heart and so she thanked him.  
"My pleasure dweeb." He laughed as he ran off with the laundry pile and Serena groaned with a half smile.  
"What a pain in the neck. But a somewhat likable pain in the neck."  
So with that she dressed herself and brushed her hairstyle back into place. But her next big shock was waiting for her when she went back downstairs.

"Oh Serena. We have a relative who's come to stay with us," said her mother greeting her with a cheery smile at the bottom of the stairs. "She's in the living room with Dad and Sammy and she's looking forward to seeing you again."  
Serena was instantly curious. "What? I wonder who it could possibly be?"  
"You'll find out in a moment dear. Follow me."  
Serena walked after her mother into the living room but when she saw who their visitor was she half gasped and half choked. It was that strange little girl from before.  
"W-who is she and what is she doing here?" Serena only just managed to control her voice's decibel level.  
Mum, Dad and Sammy all stared at her in surprise.  
Dad said, "Why don't you recognize her Serena?"  
Sammy added, "Yeah. This is our little cousin Rini."

"Cousin" Rini was innocently looking up at her from a chair and smiling, her blue ball upon her lap and her arms wrapped around it.  
She acted shy saying nothing but Serena went on almost spluttering over her own words. "Since when do we have a cousin named Rini?"  
Her mother placed a compassionate arm around her shoulders and said to her with concern, "Serena, Rini is the only child of my elder sister Trista."  
Serena felt like she was cracking up. "Y-your s-s-sister Trista? But Mum. You don't have a sister!"  
"Are you truly losing your memory Serena?" asked her mother, sounding very worried. "Trista is my elder sister. Her husband walked out on her a long time ago just before Rini was born."  
Dad chimed in. "That's right. Aunt Trista sent Cousin Rini to have a holiday with us and they sprang it on us as a surprise."  
Serena just stood there in her mother's embrace with her eyes and mouth wide open.  
Sammy held up a big photo album and said, "If you really don't believe us take a look at these Serena. Rini brought photographs from when she came to stay last year when Aunt Trista accompanied her."  
Serena sat down and flipped through the photos unable to believe what she saw. There were many pictures of her family and herself with Rini and a tall elegant woman with black hair and streaks of green within her long strands and a rather tanned-tone to her skin. This was allegedly Aunt Trista. But Serena couldn't remember any of the incidents depicted in the photos. "Aunt" Trista didn't even look anything like her mother or anyone on her side of the family to Serena. But she said nothing out loud. She didn't want her family to think she was really losing her marbles.

"I-I guess I must have suffered a mental lapse of memory," she hesitatingly admitted. She knew Sammy would relentlessly tease her further about this, but at least her parents may not want to get her checked by a doctor straight away.  
Mum and Dad said they hoped everything would come back to her as she spent time with Rini. Rini spoke up then. "I hope so too. I've really missed you big Cousin Serena."  
Serena was getting very worried. She determined to take one of these photos over to Raye's temple tomorrow. It was school holidays of course, so she could call the other girls and ask to hold an emergency meeting about this mystery.  
Luna herself, quietly watching and listening while pretending to be an ordinary cat, was also worrying about what this could all mean and Rini was thinking to herself, "I'll search Serena's room for the Silver Crystal as soon as I get an excellent opportunity."

Later while Rini was having a bath, Sammy was reading in his bedroom and Mum and Dad were in the garden mowing the lawn and and hanging out the laundry, Serena took the chance to remove one photo of her smiling happily in pose with "Cousin" Rini and "Aunt" Trista. She and Luna figured that if anybody noticed it missing at least she could say as an excuse she wanted to have a look at it herself for awhile to help refresh her memory. But thankfully not even Rini had a glance at her Photo Album. Serena slipped it inside her bag ready to take it to the Cherry Hill Temple tomorrow. That night before going to sleep she and Luna quietly talked about her.  
"Are you sure this child specifically demanded you give her the Silver Imperium Crystal Serena?"  
"Beyond all shadow of a doubt Luna. It's really got me all worried. Is she an enemy? It seems hard to imagine a kid like her an evil being. But why does she want my Crystal?"  
Luna said, "I agree. But let's see what Raye can tell us tomorrow. We'll get the girls all together so they can help us. Try to get some sleep Serena."  
As Luna curled into a ball at the foot of her bed, Serena closed her eyes. She did sleep, though she was troubled with dreams about Rini falling on top of her head whenever she was out on a date with Darien and shoving him roughly aside while she cried angrily, "Give me that Silver Crystal! I want it right now!"

But the following day after breakfast Serena announced that she was going to meet up with her friends at Raye's temple for a private gathering.  
Her parents said that would be fine. "Hope you all have fun," said Dad.  
"Give your friends our best wishes," said Mum.  
Serena picked up her bag, in which the photo was still concealed and headed out the door. "I will be sure to tell them Mum. Bye for now."  
When she was at least a block away she pulled out her communicator and alerted the others. They all promised to meet as quickly as possible. Luna had stayed behind. Serena had agreed to give her a full report when she arrived home. Mina had promised to do the same for Artemis. As for Luna she was resting on a chair in Serena's room.

Rini thought this was a perfect moment to search Serena's room for the crystal. She crept up to it and inside. Luna had dozed off where she was curled up and didn't wake while Rini searched as quickly and quietly as she could. When she heard footsteps approaching from outside the door, she zoomed under the bed just as it opened and Serena's mother entered with the feather duster. She had been intending to dust around but when she saw all the drawers and cupboards open and everything pulled out and thrown haphazardly all over the place she gave a double take and said, "Oooooh! That Serena! I'll give her a piece of my mind when she gets home. She will come up here and tidy up this mess immediately."  
With that she exited and after a few minutes when things were as quiet as could be Rini crawled out and carefully slipped out and downstairs unseen. Luna had slept through everything.

Rini hadn't found the crystal and figured Serena must have taken it. While Mum was telling Dad about the shocking state in which Serena had left her room, Rini innocently came up and asked, "Dear Aunt and Uncle. Will it be okay if I go to visit the Cherry Hill Temple. I promise I will not go where Serena and her friends are socializing in privacy. I just want to have a look at what sort of things they have for sale."  
Mum said, "I guess that will be fine. Here. We'll give you some money if you want to buy any charms or novelty ornaments."  
As she and Dad each gave her ten dollars spending money, Dad added, "But if perchance you do see Serena when she leaves the meeting, you can kindly let her know from us that if she ever leaves her bedroom looking like a pigsty again, we will either ground her or cancel her pocket money." He and Mum both scowled in annoyance as he said this and Rini said, "Okay. I'll pass on your message if I see her." Then picking up her ball she set off towards the temple trying to formulate a plan to get the crystal.

In the meantime Raye had the photograph Serena had brought on a small table in front of the Sacred Fire. Serena, Lita, Mina and Amy were all kneeling in a row behind Raye as she sat on her own knees in front of the photo on the table. She gestured in appeal to the Fire praying, "Oh Sacred Flame! Please reveal to me the truth about this child and this woman in this photo! Show me who they really are!"  
However the Sacred Fire didn't reveal anything. It gave a tiny flicker, but nothing appeared.  
Raye said, "It isn't working."  
The girls were very disappointed, but Serena was getting rather agitated. "The fire told you nothing? But Raye. I'm not really crazy, am I?"  
Raye said, "Well to be honest you sometimes do act crazy Serena."  
The others became all tense fearing another one of their old fights may be in the making. But Serena just waved her fists and shouted, "Come on Raye! I know she exists and I know what I've heard her say! I'm not being crazy about her! I need to know the facts! Even just some of the truth!"  
"Okay. Okay." Raye waved her hand pacifyingly and said, "The Sacred Fire is infallible. The only possible explanation I know of for the failure of my reading regarding this photo is that it's a complete fraud. It won't be able to tell us anything about the people in it since it isn't a genuine article. We'll have to get the child and bring her here ourselves for questioning."

But although none of them were aware of it Rini was listening in to their conversation as she was on her way to the temple. She accomplished this by means of a pair of headphones that she produced out of a little door that opened up inside her ball. A radio antenna rose out of the top and it somehow picked up everything Serena, Raye and the others said broadcasting it through the ball and along the cord leading to Rini's headphones. She didn't like the way their conversation was going one little bit.  
She thought, "I'd better come up with a way to drug them with my mind control magic formula before they all prepare to team up against me." By this time she was ten minutes away from arrival at the temple and Serena had called her friends on her communicator and arranged for their get together twenty minutes ago. While Rini had been searching Serena's room they had all been on their way and their meeting had more or less begun when Rini had asked permission to go out. She had tuned in just in time to catch the beginning of Raye's attempted fire-reading. She continued to listen as Raye suggested they discuss the matter further over some tea and muffins in Raye's personal room. Rini quickened her pace. She had an idea if she could reach the temple in time to put it in action.

Grandfather had just finished making five mugs of tea for his granddaughter and her friends. He placed them on a tray, set them on a table and filled a plate with big, round, tempting blueberry muffins. This he added to the tray in the center of the tea mugs and then picked it up and headed outside to walk along the landing edge of the temple to deliver the goodies to the waiting girls. Rini was racing up the staircase built into the hill and saw the old man's back as he was walking and humming, carrying the tray. Rini knew she must act at once.  
Bouncing her ball really fast she threw it into the air and said, "Mini Magic Tricks. Make a weeping and wailing double of me ahead of that old timer."  
Grandfather's ears pricked up and turning his head to the left towards the gardens beside the temple he was very surprised and much concerned to see what looked like Rini standing there, crying bitterly and sounding like her heart was going to break.  
"Oh dear me." He carefully lowered the tray setting it down upon the wooden floorboards and made his way off the landing. "Little girl. What is the matter?"  
As he approached the double turned and started to run away. Grandfather was such a caring soul that he began to run as fast as he was physically capable. "No, wait! Don't run away! I want to help you!"

This is just what the real Rini was counting on. As Grandfather disappeared she bounced the ball again saying, "Mini Magic Tricks. Make me look like that old man and give me some of my magic formula." Throwing the ball into the air once more it changed into a vial filled with a clear liquid and a valve at the top for shaking out drops. She had also changed into the exact size, shape and form of Grandfather. Quickly she measured out three or four drops in each mug. "This will initially make them sleep for a few hours. But when they awake I'll be able to direct their minds and make them believe anything I tell them."  
With that she picked up the tray still in her disguise. The vial changed back into her ball which rose and hovered beside her. "Show me where to find them," she commanded and the ball moved ahead leading her to the door to Raye's quarters. Things were turning out smoothly for Rini.

As she approached Raye's door, Serena was staring at the photo and pestering Raye some more. "Are you really sure there was no message in the fire at all Raye? You sure you didn't make some mistake with the Hocus-Pocus?"  
Raye was struggling to keep her temper. "Serena. First of all I never make mistakes and second, don't call my fire reading Hocus-Pocus. It's not witchcraft. Do I look like a witch?"  
Before Serena could open her mouth and make one of her silly, facetious remarks that might have upset Raye even further, Rini knocked on the door and called out, "Hello. I've brought you your snacks."  
Raye stood up and ran over to open the door. Rini met her with a big smile. She not only looked like her Grandfather. She sounded perfectly like him too. The blue ball was hovering above the roof of the temple out of sight. Raye smiled and bent down to pick up the tray from where it lay on the floor. "Thank you Grandfather. Your muffins look delicious as usual."  
"You're most welcome," Rini said as the door closed and she turned back into her normal self. Her ball made its way back down to join her outstretched arms and she giggled to herself.

As for Grandfather he had been trying to catch the little girl he had observed crying, but the magical clone of herself that Rini had produced had only lasted just long enough to lead him down the stairs far away from the temple. He was puffing and panting as he carefully descended after her. "Stop! Wheeze! Gasp! Who are you and why are you crying? Please tell me!"  
Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs the figure stopped and turned to face the exhausted old man. As he staggered towards her, to his bewilderment she suddenly vanished before his eyes. The surprise and the toll upon his stamina combined caused him to collapse in a dead faint. Though Raye wouldn't find out about it for awhile some visitors coming to the temple came across him by good fortune. They recognized him as the old priest and manager of the Cherry Hill Temple Shrine and they called for an ambulance. The ambulance officers arrived and took Grandfather to hospital where he would get the care and the rest he needed to recover, so he was going to be all right in the end.

Getting back to the girls, as soon as Raye had set the tray down on the table Serena had gone ballistic. "CHOCOLATE CHIP MUFFINS! HOORAY!"  
Before the other four knew it she had snatched and taken a bite out of one muffin after another until she had five muffins with enormous bites out of them in her arms.  
Suddenly she noticed her friends staring wide-eyed at her. With her mouth still full she struggled to swallow and stammered, "W-what are you staring f-f-for?"  
"Serena," said Lita in dismay. "You've just gone and half eaten each of our muffins as well as your own."  
Then Serena sheepishly realized that there was only one plate of muffins and there were indeed five of them, to go with the five mugs of tea.  
"Oh. I'm very sorry girls. I love anything chocolate chip so much I became carried away. Here. You can share what's left among yourselves."  
"Thanks I suppose," Raye sighed exasperatedly as she and the others reached for their tea while Serena was putting the mangled muffins back on the plate still muttering embarrassed apologies.

The next thing Serena knew her friends began to gasp and collapse either slumped forward onto the table or smack dab on their backs hitting the floor. Serena was horrified as she took in the scene noting the overturned tea mugs and sensing somebody's shadow on the other side of the sliding temple style door. She quickly tipped her own mug over and fell on her back playing possum. Rini poked her head in and chortled. "It worked. I got them all, including Serena."  
She walked inside with her ball floating behind her. "I may as well search Serena for the Silver Crystal," she said out loud and walked over to her with twitching fingers eager to go through her pockets and other places where her prize might be concealed.  
But when she bent over she shrieked in fright as Serena jumped up and grabbed her. Serena sprang to her feet lifting Rini by the neck. Rini's eyes widened in fear and her little hands clutched vainly at Serena's hands. There were wrathful tears in Serena's eyes that poured down her cheeks as she glared at the cowering little girl. Daggers may have been shooting from her eye sockets and though her voice was sobbing, there was venom in her words directed towards Rini.  
"So now you've shown your true evil colours. But too late for my friends. They were by far the very best friends I ever had and you poisoned them while trying to kill me too for my Crystal. I ought to squeeze until you turn blue and croak you evil fungus in cute kiddie clothing. You killed my friends."  
"No no no!" Rini desperately pleaded. "I haven't killed your friends! They're only knocked out! They'll awaken in about two hours! That is the truth!"  
Hearing this Serena pulled Rini up close to her face and snarled. "They had better awaken for your sake. I'm going to tie you up and if they turn out to be truly dead, so will you be."  
Upon this terrible threat Rini snapped and began to cry and wail just like the clone she had created earlier. But as she cried something weird began to happen.  
Serena was amazed to see a crescent moon appear glowing golden yellow on Rini's forehead. It was not upside down like those upon the foreheads of Rubeus and those four sisters. It was right side up and as Serena watched it began to glow brighter and brighter. Serena was blown backwards releasing Rini as golden light burst forth illuminating the whole room and to the astonishment of Chad, who was managing the temple and serving any visitors in Grandfather's absence, a brilliant beam shot up above into the sky making everything so bright he had to cover his eyes. "Hey. What is going on?" He couldn't believe it.  
Nor did Serena. She curled up in a ball to shield her eyes from the intensity of being directly in Rini's presence. As Rini stopped crying the light dissipated. But Serena still had difficulty seeing and blinked rapidly to clear her vision's blurriness.  
"W-w-what just happened?" she asked in a daze.  
But Rini wasn't answering her. "Oh no! They've tracked me down!"  
"Why, what did you expect little munchkin?" said a woman's voice. "You basically led us to you with fanfares."  
Serena shook her head and tried to focus on the figure who was standing in the open doorway. "Who are you?" she yelled out demandingly.

As Serena's vision came clearly into focus she saw that the woman was dressed in a pink body suit with a purple tutu just above her legs. Her black hair had two points that stuck up on her head and she had an upside down black crescent moon in the middle of her forehead. "My name is Catzi," she said. "And I've come for that kid."  
Rini trembled as Catzi pointed her finger at her. Serena said, "So what do you want with her?"  
Catzi said, "It doesn't concern you."  
Serena shot back with a sharp retort. "I think I am entitled to know exactly who you are and what you want with this little girl."  
Catzi frowned heavily. "I have no reason to attack you. I just need to take the child and leave."  
Serena would not back down. "You can't have her until I know what this is all about lady."  
Catzi said, "We don't want to hurt you or anybody in this ancient Tokyo city. But let this be a warning to you."  
With that she raised her hand and Serena jumped back up against Raye's wall of bookshelves in fright as a burst of bluish-coloured flame shot out from Catzi's open palm.

She screamed but the fire disappeared, fizzling out before it reached her. Still Rini took advantage of the distraction to run for it, ducking underneath between Catzi's own pair of legs. "Hey!" she cried. "Come back here!"  
Before pursuing her she quickly said to Serena, "See how I could hurt you easily? But I have nothing against you. So mind your own business please while I catch that kid." With that she ran off.  
Serena didn't waste time. She very quickly examined the bodies of her friends. "It seems like I misjudged that child very badly. My friends all seem to be breathing and they have pulses. She did not slip them a fatal poison, just like she terrifyingly begged me to believe."  
Serena felt horrible and ashamed of herself, but she steeled herself and said, "That weird woman may not mean me any harm, but still I'm not letting her abduct that poor child. Not now that I know how wrongly I threatened her. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Having transformed Sailor Moon leaped and bounded out the door in pursuit of the hunter and her prey.

Rini was running for all she was worth with her ball clutched to her chest. Suddenly another figure loomed up in front of her and she desperately ran to the side as the massive woman swung at her in a grabbing motion. She just barely missed. It was Rhonda, the Droid Warrior Catzi had personally selected for their team in the future. She was almost seven feet tall, very muscular, with light green skin, long blonde hair styled in a buzz-cut and orange slashes and an orange star painted on her face. She had no dark crescent moon mark on her forehead like Catzi, but she did have a jewel of some kind built into a belt she was wearing round her waist and it had a similar symbol engraved into it somehow.  
As Rini ran off in the side direction Rhonda looked at her, only turning her head back to acknowledge Catzi as she ran up to her. "Let's catch her Rhonda. She mustn't get away."  
"Yes Catzi," said Rhonda and Catzi gave a tremendous leap and soared high above Rini landing in front of her, making her pull up to a terrified stop. Looking behind her she trembled to see Rhonda right behind her. Catzi laughed.  
"Ha ha! It's no use little girl. Rhonda and I have you surrounded. Surrender to us or we will be forced to kill you."  
"No! Leave me alone!" Rini sobbed as the two women prepared to close in the gap.

Suddenly a voice stopped them in their tracks. "Back off you freaks!"  
Rhonda raised her eyebrows while Catzi turned to look behind her. "Who are you?" Catzi demanded.  
"I am Sailor Moon. Champion of justice. And I won't let you take that little girl away."  
Catzi and Rhonda both reacted with amazement. "Did you say Sailor Moon?"  
"We know all about you," said Rhonda.  
"Oh you do, do you?" Sailor Moon responded just a little bit smugly, I must say and she let her guard down for a second.  
It was almost a fatal second. Catzi shouted, "You are our sworn enemy and we must destroy you!" With that she shot more of her blue fire at Sailor Moon.  
Sailor Moon was very shocked and desperately leaped into the air as she realized that unlike when Catzi had shot at her when she wasn't transformed, this time she meant deadly business. Rhonda leaped up after her and punched her in the face sending her spinning to the ground.  
"Rhonda! Beat her up while I capture the little brat! If she's still alive when I'm done I'll help you finish her off!"  
Sailor Moon was dazed as she landed with a crash and feebly tried to get back up. But she screamed again as she saw Rhonda's big, heavy boot preparing to come connecting to her with sickening impact and Rini herself was trying to run away as Catzi brutally decided to aim her fire attack at her.

But before Catzi could shoot at Rini there was a cry of anguished pain, not from Sailor Moon. But from Rhonda. Catzi recognized the sound of Rhonda groaning and snapped around and observed to her horror, Rhonda landing on the ground in a crumpled heap. Sailor Moon climbed joyfully to her feet exclaiming, "Tuxedo Mask!"  
Her saviour landed beside her brandishing his cane. He had hurled himself at Rhonda and struck her in the belly with the end of it as hard as he could before she knew he was there. She placed one hand upon her tummy while she struggled to rise.  
Catzi tried to shoot her fire at the new intruder with his mask and fancy clothes. But he sent three red roses her way and as she raised her arm she gasped as the stems stabbed her in three places between her wrist and armpit. "Aaaaargh!" Catzi stared at the flowers sticking in her arm in dismay and her legs began to shake like jelly.  
"I thought you could use some help Sailor Moon," said Tuxedo Mask.  
"Your timing was impeccable. Thank you Tuxedo Mask," said Sailor Moon.  
Rini had stopped running and was watching the fight with wide eyes. She herself recognized Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon. And she didn't just admire them. She loved them.

Catzi grimaced in pain but she snarled. "You are our enemies. We will destroy you."  
"Oh shut up!" Sailor Moon launched herself at Catzi's face like a torpedo. Her arms were crossed in front of her chin and she struck Catzi in the face knocking her onto her back. As Catzi lay dazed with Sailor Moon standing over her, she cried out, "Help me Rhonda. Help. Help me Rhonda."  
Rhonda however had her own troubles. She was trying to clobber Tuxedo Mask. However he agilely dodged and avoided her powerful fists and swung his cane knocking her off her feet onto her own back. Then he punched her hard in the stomach again and she almost felt like she wanted to throw up.  
"How c-can this b-be? I've, urgh, never lost to an opponent ever before."  
Sailor Moon took her tiara and it became her scepter as usual by the magic. "Look you two," she said pointing it from one to the other where they lay, "if you try any more funny business, this scepter I'm holding is a powerful weapon. Potentially deadly. I'm going to give you a chance to admit defeat and depart. I suggest you accept it."  
Catzi and Rhonda looked at each other. Their expressions were mutually agreed. It was time to back off. For now. They clambered painfully to a standing position and walked towards each other slowly. Leaning in balanced support Catzi said, "We are leaving for now. But we will return and next time we will destroy you Sailor Moon. And we will get that brat."  
Then the pair of them dematerialized.

Rini ran up to them both. "Tuxedo Mask! Sailor Moon!"  
"You know us both?" Sailor Moon gasped.  
"Yes Sailor Moon. I was told you would be here when I came from the future. You are to protect me and help me save my mother and all my friends in the future. Those people are trying to catch me to prevent me from finding the Silver Crystal to defeat them. I am still trying to acquire the crystal Sailor Moon. I will keep trying."  
Sailor Moon was all the more gob-smacked at all this. Tuxedo Mask only stared hard at Rini. He didn't understand it, but he felt there was some mysterious connection that she had to him.  
Sailor Moon knew she had to return to her secret identity, so she said, "That's all right. Just keep trying and I'll be watching out for you. I must go now."  
Tuxedo Mask stayed behind as Sailor Moon ran off to re-join her friends and wait for them to wake up. He and Rini spent at least one hour together before they said goodbye. He was baffled, but he knew he felt strongly attached to the little girl.

Rini cautiously returned to find Serena all calmed down now to her relief and awaiting her friends recovery. Serena spoke kindly to Rini saying she was very sorry for the abusive treatment she had given her and also that she was glad to hear that Sailor Moon had saved her from that mad woman.  
Rini was sorry for doping the other girls too and when they woke up, she did not attempt to exert any control over them. Though Serena was amazed at how very easily she was able to persuade them not to do anything to Rini. Especially Raye, knowing how hot-tempered she was by nature. Little did she realize that was the magical effect of the knockout drug, though Rini was very pleased and relieved about the way it all turned out.

Then the two of them walked home together. Serena was mulling things over in her mind. If these people Rini mentioned had ruthlessly invaded her future world, then why had that Catzi spoken as if they had no desire to hurt any of the people generally here in the past? It didn't make any sense at all.  
Suddenly Rini said, "Oh Serena. I just remembered something I was supposed to tell you."  
"What's that?" Serena asked.  
"Your mother and father are very unhappy with you regarding the messy state of your bedroom."  
Serena couldn't believe it. "What are you talking about? My room is in a perfectly neat and tidy arrangement."  
Rini said nothing else and Serena was thinking this a rather sick joke as they were walking up to the front door. Rini stayed outside halfway along the front path and turned her back as Serena entered and was met by two very cross voices yelling, "SERENA!"

Later as she lay in her bed with Luna that night Serena reprimanded her. "I can't believe you slept through it all while that fungus trashed my room. I was never so shaken up in my life."  
"How embarrassing. I must be picking up your sleeping habits Serena. You could easily sleep through a tornado."  
Serena was too exhausted after having been forced to clean up the mess that Rini had made to get mad at Luna's remark. She just said, "Never mind Luna. But I will say this. I don't believe she's evil, but if she keeps getting me into trouble I definitely do not like her."  
With that she dropped off into a disgruntled sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER 2

Inside their time travel spaceship, hovering over a secluded area in the nearby countryside surrounding the old city of tokyo, Rubeus was staring at the city on his large computer monitor. Ever since Catzi and Rhonda had returned after Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask had injured them, he had been trying hard to rediscover young Rini. But she was very elusive. It was a big city. She could be anywhere and she had been very discreetly careful not to send up any more of those flares inside of her since the time one accidentally burst forth when she was under extreme duress with Serena at the Cherry Hill Temple.  
Yes, the search for Rini was very important, but earlier that day he had received new side orders from the Wiseman and the Grim Man. He intended to put one of the sisters onto it. Catzi's arm was still healing with bandaids and disinfection, from where Tuxedo Mask had stuck three roses into her like a pin cushion, so he decided to put Birdy to work.

"Birdy. Report to me at once," he spoke into the intercom and in less than two minutes Birdy approached through the passage doorway.  
"You called Rubeus?"  
He almost had a fit when he looked down at the floor where she was standing. "Birdy. Why are you barefoot?"  
Birdy smiled and explained. "Me and Frosty and Droido were in the midst of manicuring and pedicuring each other."  
As if on cue Frosty and Droido came padding through the door behind Birdy to stand on each side of her. They proudly raised up one of their legs each and stretched them straight out.  
"See our beautiful painted toenails Rubeus?"  
"Bright orange. Isn't it adorable?"  
Rubeus snapped angrily. "I don't want to look at your stupid feet!"  
Droido sniffed with offence. "You don't have to be so rude you know."  
Frosty added, "Yeah. What's your problem Rubeus?"  
Birdy put in her two cents. "You used to always speak very nicely to us."  
Rubeus was momentarily on the verge of apologizing. But something inside him suddenly seemed to make him stubborn and he said, "Never mind. I have important orders from our prince delivered to me by our mentors."  
Birdy, Frosty and Droido were insulted, but still they were always loyally attentive to orders. "Tell us Rubeus," said Birdy.  
Rubeus explained, "While we are searching for that child we can be doing something to help tighten our allies hold on Crystal Tokyo in the future. We can take over shops and businesses in strategic points. We place the real staff into a hypnotic trance and make them stay inside the staff rooms so we can sell the products which we infuse with magical properties. They won't harm the innocent people who use it here in the past. But the more we can sell and get them to use the products, the stronger the spell will have a potent effect upon the same area of Crystal Tokyo. It will result in a strong magical aura surrounding what we call the equivalent Crystal Point of Crystal Tokyo. Those who oppose us in the future will never be able to enter that part of the city, though our allies will be free to enter it and establish our takeover of each major Crystal Point without any opposition."

Birdy and her friends forgot all their resentment with Rubeus upon hearing this.  
"This will be lots of fun," said Frosty.  
"What's our target Rubeus?" asked Droido eagerly.  
"Here it is." Rubeus pushed a button and indicated a make-up and beauty store. "I know how much you love cosmetics Droido. I want you to manage the shop while Birdy and Frosty do all they can to help you."  
Droido was very happy and eager to get going. Birdy said, "You can count on us Rubeus. Let's get our shoes on girls."

In the meantime Serena was wandering the streets when she saw Darien up ahead. He had his back to her and she ran up to him joyously calling out his name. "Hey there Darien!"  
Upon hearing he turned around as she threw her arms around him. "I'm so very glad to see you. I've been so worried about that really bad scene with my Dad yesterday."  
What had happened was that Serena's family had chanced to be walking along the street together when they came across Serena sitting at an outside table at a cafe with Rini and also Darien. The three of them had been sharing milkshakes and sundaes but they were rather nervous when Dad, Mum and Sammy came up to them. Especially Dad. He was not very comfortable seeing his daughter and his little neice (as he believed) in the company of a man who was unfamiliar to him. "Serena. Who is this stranger you're with?" He had demanded to know.  
Darien was getting extremely nervous, breaking out in a cold sweat and Rini was just staring, saying nothing at all. Serena tried to explain innocently. "Ah well. You see this is my friend Darien. He treated Rini and I to these sweets today."  
Dad was still frowning heavily, though Mum seemed to be more relaxed about it smiling. But then Sammy had to go and make a remark that really pushed Dad over the edge.  
"Serena. Don't you think he's way too old for you?"  
That really did it. Dad looked like he was going to blow a gasket and Darien jumped up from his chair saying, "Heh-heh. Think I'd better be leaving. Bye Serena and Rini."  
"Come back here you creep!" Dad almost looked like he was going to give chase, but he refrained upon noticing the people at the other tables staring at the scenario.  
Serena was very upset but Mum said to her cheerfully, "Serena, if he's a decent fellow you have my approval."  
Dad and Sammy couldn't believe it. Dad protested, "But dear. He's too old. Just like Sammy said. And Serena shouldn't have been seeing him without our knowledge."  
Mum said firmly, "Well I admit that it would have been better if Serena had told us about him. But Darien is not a stranger to me."  
Serena, Sammy and Dad all gasped while Rini stared wide eyed.  
"Where do you know him from Mum?" asked Serena.  
"I met him years ago before your brother Sammy was born Serena. I was working as a checkout lady in a supermarket and Darien was one of my co-workers. He had just come out of an orphanage as an adult. Nobody had ever adopted him and so he was seeking to make a life for himself. The rest of the staff as well as myself helped to settle him into the apartment he probably still rents today. We all felt especially sorry for him because he had amnesia from a car accident in which he lost his parents. He may not remember me but to this day I remember him."  
Serena recalled how Darien had told her about his past as much as he could remember in the elevator back when they had been attacked by Queen Beryl's sadistic Youma General Zoicite. She never dreamed that her mother had crossed his path during part of that time.  
Dad and Sammy were completely taken aback and looked away from the people watching what was publicly unfolding.  
Dad stammered an embarrassed apology to Serena and Mum suggested inviting him to come for dinner next week.

Serena had been going to mention this to Darien just now presently but he pulled himself out of her embrace and backed away saying, "That issue with your Dad has worried me too Serena. It's made me think we should break up."  
Serena couldn't believe what she was hearing. "No Darien. You can't mean it. We have been destined for each other at least one thousand years."  
Darien did not want to hear any excuses or rationalizations. "That was in the peaceful time of the Moon Kingdom Serena. Your father the King in our past existences gave full consent to our proposed union. But your father in the new time and place we live in thinks I'm too old for you. We can't stay together anymore under these circumstances."  
Serena began to beg and plead. "But Darien. When you left my mother said,"  
He cut her off turning away with his arm held out straight. "It's over Serena. Your father has decreed it. We're through."  
He said this very loudly, though he did add more quietly, "I'm sorry but it's all for the best." With that he turned and walked away leaving her struck speechless and building up tears as she reflected upon this. Finally she burst into full scale crying. Her tears were strong and constantly gushing out of her eyes as she staggered off in the opposite direction. How could Darien be so cold and heartless, just because of one incident yesterday? Why wouldn't he even listen to her explanation?

While she was walking along sobbing she almost collided with a white haired woman in a yellow dress. "Whoops. Take care there," said the woman. It was Birdy.  
Serena wiped her eyes and sniffed. "I-I'm sorry. Pardon me ma'am."  
Frosty was at Birdy's side. She was black haired and dressed in a pink dress. "Hey. You're crying." There was genuine concern in Frosty's voice and Birdy was also sad to see her tears.  
"Care to tell us what the matter is?" Birdy asked.  
Serena wiped her eyes, blew her nose and said, "I just had a terrible shock. My boyfriend broke up with me."  
Birdy and Frosty were deeply sorry to hear this. "That is terrible indeed," sympathized Frosty.  
Birdy held out a flier and said, "If it will cheer you up, would you like to have a browse in the Beauty 4 You Cosmetics Store. I'm the manageress there and we're having specials this whole week. My employee here and myself are walking around town trying to distribute these to the public."  
Serena held out her hand and took the flier having a glance at it. She did need something to desperately try to cheer her up.  
"Thank you. I believe I will walk over to your shop and have a browse."  
Birdy and Frosty wished her good day and hoped she felt more cheerful. When she left they looked at each other and Frosty said, "The poor thing seems so very nice. It's a shame her boyfriend broke her heart."  
"I'll say Frosty. I hope she cheers up when she visits the store we took over. Droido will look after her and all the other customers. Now come. Let us finish passing out all our fliers."

Serena was one of the very first customers to visit Beauty 4 You. Droido had already sold a couple of cosmetic products to young women who were leaving as Serena arrived. Though Serena wasn't aware Luna had happened to be walking by and seeing her enter the shop, decided to quietly follow her and see what she was up to.

While a few other ladies were browsing through the products considering what they wanted to buy, Serena stepped up to the counter. Droido was standing in position dressed in a smart salesgirl uniform and neat, short, brown hair. "May I help you young lady? she asked, but then she noticed Serena's expression. "Oh dear. Why do you look so sad?"  
"N-nothing." Serena didn't particularly want to talk more about it, but Droido began placing products on the counter recommending them to cheer her up.  
"Why don't you wash those blues away with our special moisturizing cream? Then I suggest making yourself look pretty with these other products."  
Looking at the bottles Serena thought a minute, then asked considering, "Do you think if I use your make-up to look pretty then my boyfriend will come back to me?"

Ah. So this was why she was unhappy. Droido cheerily replied, "Yeah. I'm sure he will. If you look gorgeous enough he will realize he can't live without you dearie."  
But then Serena thought about how scared Darien had been of her father's furious accusation and she began to reconsider things. "But even with make-up, I don't think Darien will easily change his mind."  
Droido tried to encourage her. "How do you know he won't? Go on dearie. Why don't you just try our products? You have nothing to lose and you just might gain him back."  
Then Serena lost her cool reserves and began to shout at just a slightly raised volume level. "Hey! You don't even know the full story of my break-up with my boyfriend! I know he won't come back to me just because I spruce myself up! You're just trying to persuade me to buy your stupid make-up! Well I won't buy anything you selfish, unfeeling woman!"  
This was kind of mean and rude of Serena. It was partially true that Droido was interested in trying to sell as much make-up as possible so that their hold over Crystal Tokyo would be strengthened. But at the same time she had felt genuinely sorry to see how sad Serena was and had been trying to help cheer her up and offer her encouragement. If Serena had kept control over her feelings and politely declined then things would have gone very differently. But Droido was deeply hurt by this stinging rant and also after the way Rubeus had been so uncivil earlier when she and Frosty had tried to show him their orange painted toenails made her lose her own cool.  
She reached out and grabbed Serena's wrist as she tried to walk away and snarled menacingly. "How dare you speak to me like that when I was trying to be nice?"  
As Serena struggled and cried out, "Let me go!" Droido continued to be angry.  
"I want an apology you little tramp."

The other ladies began to place their products back on the shelves. "I'm not buying anything from here," said one.  
"Yeah. I won't recommend the shop to my friends. Not after this incident," agreed another.  
And with that they all filed outside and realizing what had just happened Droido squeezed Serena's wrist even harder. "You just made me lose all my customers!"  
"It's your own fault you know. It wouldn't have happened if you hadn't started abusing me."

Just then Birdy entered. She had decided to give Frosty the task of finishing off the flier distribution so she could see how Droido was doing.  
She was surprised. "What's going on?"  
Droido felt rather ashamed and bowed her head still holding Serena. "I'm sorry Birdy. This young girl was rude to me and I lost my cool. The other customers all stormed out."  
"Oh dear. You should have controlled your temper," sighed Birdy.  
Serena was also feeling regretful. "I suppose I was at fault too. I guess you did mean well. I humbly apologize. Can you let go of my wrist now please?"  
But Birdy said, "I don't particularly like this. But since we're not likely to get any more custom when word spreads we have no choice but to force this girl to put on heaps and heaps of our make-up to meet a good quota."  
Serena couldn't believe her ears. "What did you just say? Release me right now!" She desperately pulled but Droido's grip was firm.  
"I'll keep her here Birdy while you get some bottles. I'm deeply sorry it has come to this." Droido's face was heavy with regret and Birdy brought as much make-up as she could carry over next to Serena standing by her side. She was sad too. "We won't hurt you dear. You can wash it all off when we're done if you like. We just need you to initially use as much of our make-up as possible."  
"ARE YOU BOTH CRAZY LUNATICS?" Serena shouted at the top of her voice.  
Luna decided she'd observed enough. It was time for action.

Racing as fast as she could Luna sprang up onto the counter and then straight up at Droido's face taking her and Birdy by surprise. She sent Droido stumbling backwards into the shelves behind her making them collapse spilling ointment and powder containers down upon her as Luna quickly zoomed away to the side. The powder jars burst open sending a big cloud rising up where Droido lay coughing and gasping for breath. Birdy was very upset to see her buddy have such an awful accident. "Oh no! Droido!" She ran round the counter, plunging into the powder cloud to help her.  
Serena had also fallen over when Droido had suddenly let go of her wrist and she exclaimed, "Luna!" upon seeing the resourceful feline come running up to her.  
"Serena. I think these people may be enemies. Transform before they get free of the debris and dust."  
"Right. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

When Birdy hauled Droido to her feet, the pair of them were coughing and sneezing and trying to wipe the powder from their eyes with handkerchiefs.  
"Is that girl still here Birdy or is she run off?"  
"I am not sure Droido. Wait there's somebody here. What the?"  
As their vision cleared they beheld Sailor Moon before them.  
"I am Sailor Moon and if you two are up to no good I shall punish you."  
Birdy said, "We know who you are Sailor Moon. Catzi and Rhonda told us all about you. And we will now destroy you to prevent you interfering with our plans for Crystal Tokyo. Droido. Do your stuff."  
Before Sailor Moon and Luna's startled eyes Droido spun herself around once and her appearance changed. Her skin became pale blue and her hair green and long at the front of her head hanging down in long strands. She appeared to have a round, metallic hat on her head with a long tube and big ball on the end of it. It was actually a perfume dispenser and the rest of her clothes comprised a short skin tight blue and purple dress with green leggings. Most freaky of all was the large, red jewel stuck in her forehead with the upside-down dark crescent moon symbol in it. Birdy was now inexplicably sporting one of those symbols, on its own minus a jewel in the same place on her own forehead. That had certainly not been there before.  
Sailor Moon was horrified but even more so when Droido seized the perfume pump in her hands, opened her eyes and her mouth really wide and squeezed the said pump. Incredibly some substance proceeded to shoot forth from Driodo's mouth. Sailor Moon ducked behind a shelf but as the mysterious spray hit the shelf, all its contents began to melt away.

It was like Droido was projectile vomitting acid. The next thing Sailor Moon and Luna knew she was suddenly zooming towards them on two cosmetic bottles. They were spinning like wheels and Droido was standing balanced on top. They didn't know how she had managed to do it but they had no time to care to wonder. "Look out Sailor Moon!" Luna yelled as she spewed forth another blast. It struck the wall making a gaping hole as Sailor Moon and Luna desperately ran down the corner corridor.  
But then disaster struck as Sailor Moon began to stumble and slip over other bottles and containers that were strewn along the floor. As she fell over with a shrill cry she landed on top of Luna knocking the breath out of her. Droido had now jumped off the bottles she'd been using just like skates and was walking towards them, perfume pump still in hand. Birdy had run up to the turn behind her and was grinning jovially calling out to Droido.  
"You're so awesome. I'm very proud of you Droido. Now kill her."  
"Yes I will Birdy." Droido opened her eyes and mouth once more and prepared to squeeze the pump before Sailor Moon's terrified eyes. Luna was stunned and barely even conscious. Sailor Moon knew before she had a hope of even getting to her feet it would be over for her and poor Luna alike.

Just then a familiar red rose came flying through the air and stuck in the floor in front of Droido's path. Gasping she looked up to see a masked man in a top hat and tuxedo standing on the ledge of an open upper window. Birdy directed her own gaze up where her friend was looking and saw him too. So did Serena, who cried out, "Tuxedo Mask! It's you!"  
Tuxedo Mask declared, "Beauty is not merely skin deep. You can be very gorgeously dolled up in your face, but it's what's inside your heart that counts for absolute beauty."  
Droido sneered and answered scornfully, "Who are you to talk about the inner beauty Cape-boy? After what you and the rest of your people did to us in Crystal Tokyo?"  
With that she fired off a blast of her acidic spray and Tuxedo Mask had to jump and somersault into the air to avoid it as it struck the right side of the window and part of the ledge eating it away.

Landing remarkably on one bended knee without hurting himself in front of where Sailor Moon and Luna lay, he sprang to his feet just as Droido was aiming at him once again. He held out his cane and performed an incredible counter-attack. He twirled it rapidly round in his hand like a propellor blade. His neat little "parlour trick" deflected the jet of acid that spewed forth from Droido's mouth sending it straight back at her and into her face. As her hands flew up in reaction and she coughed and choked, Birdy came running as fast as she could. "Droido! Droido! Oh my wonderful friend! Are you all right?"  
With her back to her Droido lowered her hands and began to moan. "Birdy! I can't see! I've gone blind!" Her voice also sounded odd.  
Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon could see what the problem was and as soon as Birdy grabbed Droido's shoulders and spun her round she also saw to her horror. "Oh no! Your eyebrows, eyes and nose have all been melted away leaving only your mouth!"  
Tuxedo Mask yelled, "Attack now Sailor Moon."  
"Yes." She took off her tiara and it became her scepter, which she began to wave while the two women were preoccupied with other concerns. Droido had pulled out a compact mirror and an eye-pencil and was trying to use it to draw her face back on.  
"Let me help you," Birdy implored taking the pencil off her and beginning to try to draw an eye.

"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" Upon hearing Sailor Moon shout out her attack, Birdy turned and gasped upon observing the dangerous rays of coloured beams burst forth and begin to surround her and Droido.  
"LOOK OUT!" She yelled throwing her arms around Droido's middle as if she wanted to lift her and they vanished as the beams and rays all combined and exploded.  
"Ha! I got them," Sailor Moon crowed triumphantly.  
But then she heard Birdy's voice above. "No, you missed us."  
"What?" Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask looked up at the half destroyed window to see Birdy balancing precariously, her arms still around Droido. They looked like they might fall but Birdy angrily said, "You've won for now Sailor Moon. But this isn't over." Then she dematerialized with her friend.

They rematerialized before Rubeus in their space ship and when Birdy explained quickly what had happened, Rubeus sent a telepathic message for Frosty to abandon distributing fliers and she also returned. She was very upset for Droido and sat with her carefully and painstakingly taking the time to draw her face as good as new. While she did this Rubeus held a meeting with the four sisters and the other Droids.  
"We must do something about Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. They are a big threat to any progress we try to make here in the old Tokyo. Also we must capture Rini. We need to spend some good quality time discussing our strategies. I'll be holding meetings regularly every day and I want all of you to think hard and try to come up with ideas for us to debate."  
They all nodded their heads around the table. Catzi looked at her arm which was still bandaged though almost healed fully. She also remembered how Sailor Moon had struck her in the face. She wanted vengeance against her and that rose throwing Cape-boy vehemently. So did Birdy. Her friend Droido could have been killed. The thought made her rage inwardly as if her blood were going to bubble and boil. All of them vowed to destroy their opponents. Their future selves were part of their enemies at Crystal Tokyo. Revenge was what was motivating them.

As for Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask, he asked her if she was all right. When she affirmed that she was he said, "Farewell then."  
"Wait a minute Tuxedo Mask," Sailor Moon was close to tears as she pleaded with him. "Surely you do still care about me because he came to save me?"  
Tuxedo Mask sighed and held up his hand. "Look we're united in the fight against evil. I have a sixth sense bonded to you that tells me you're in danger and I fulfill my obligations. But I can no longer be romantically linked to you because your father will never accept me."  
Serena began to cry and beg. "But please Darien I,"  
He flinched at being called Darien in his Tuxedo Mask identity but he raised his voice to silence her. "Enough! The matter is closed. Okay?"  
Sailor Moon said nothing but quietly cried and Tuxedo Mask turned and walked away, though he silently moaned regretfully to himself as he disappeared.

Luna spoke suddenly at her feet. "Sailor Moon. Call the other Scouts to come and check these products out for anything sinister. There are also people emerging from the staff room. They seem confused."  
Sailor Moon obediently composed herself and called her friends on her communicator. Then she turned to address the real manageress of Beauty 4 You and her two employees. When Birdy and Droido had abandoned the store, their hypnotic trance had been broken and they wanted to find out what had been going on. When they saw Sailor Moon they asked her what had happened. She explained to the best of her knowledge and as soon as the other Scouts arrived the three ladies watched with suspenseful awe as Sailor Mars took one bottle after another and shut her eyes praying for any evil effects to be revealed to her. After the sixth and seventh bottles of make-up she stopped and said, "Well this is most peculiar indeed."  
"What have you found out Sailor Mars?" asked Sailor Mercury.  
Sailor Mars looked at her then at everybody as she answered, "Believe it or not. Absolutely nothing. There is no evil magic I can perceive that would cause harm to anybody if they were to use the creams, powders and other cosmetics in these products. For all practical purposes they're all just harmless make-up."

Everybody, including Luna, was flabbergasted. What nobody knew was that the only sort of magic that the products did contain would have served to generate power for the enemy to use against Crystal Tokyo in the future. Since they were forced to abandon the mission the magic had now been instantly dispelled. Just like the trance the real staff had been placed in.  
"What kind of enemies are we up against?" said Sailor Jupiter.  
"They put these women in a trance and took over their store," said Sailor Venus scratching her head, "only to essentially try to run it legitimately and honestly themselves?"  
The staff members were just as confused as the Sailor Scouts but they agreed to keep quiet about the weird incident while the Scouts tried to find out the truth. "Until we know for sure what their ultimate game is we'd rather you didn't let the general public know anything, thank you," Sailor Mercury told them.  
"You can count on us Sailor Scouts," said the manageress and they hung up a sign in their window the next morning announcing that the store lady who had lost her temper and acted abusively to a customer yesterday had been dismissed from the job and so it was all covered up.  
But Serena was feeling very miserable because Darien had broken up with her. Her friends tried to comfort her and said surely he would recant his decision in due time. She hoped they were right but she still felt way down in the dumps.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER 3

There was a brand new ice cream parlour that had just opened up three days ago in town. Rini was walking past it and she felt very tempted to buy some. "Mmmm. So many yummy flavours. Mint, strawberry, chocolate-chip. I want some."  
But then she thought to herself, "Wait a minute. I can't afford to waste my time pursuing sweets or other pleasures like any ordinary kid. My mission is to find the Silver Imperium Crystal that this Serena is hiding somewhere. My mother is depending on it."  
And so she started to walk away when she heard somebody call out to her.  
"Hey there Rini."

Turning round Rini saw it was Amy. "Oh hello." She waved and smiled.  
Amy and the others, even Raye, had all fully accepted that Rini was a mystery, but basically an innocent mystery. They had all forgiven her for her little prank involving the drug in their tea.  
Amy walked up to her and smiled. "Were you going to the ice cream parlour?"  
"Actually no. I was going straight past it."  
"My, but you have a lot of will power," said Amy. "But I've heard that their ice cream is really good. Would you be persuaded to join me if I treated you out of my own pocket?"  
Rini thought for a minute. Hanging out with one of Serena's friends might be an excellent opportunity to ask innocent questions that could give her vitally helpful information. Besides she did adore ice cream. "Okay Amy. My favourite flavour is cookies and cream."  
"Cookies and cream eh? I think I'll try that one myself."  
Rini ran towards the parlour. "Last one there's a rotten egg." She taunted laughingly over her shoulder.  
Amy laughed too and walking slowly cried out, "This rotten egg is taking her time."

In no time at all the two of them were seated at a table with enormous cookies and cream cones and they chatted while they ate. "I'm feeling rather excited but also a little sad right now Rini," said Amy.  
"Why's that?" Rini asked curiously.  
"Well you see. I've been accepted to undertake studies over in Germany."  
"Germany? Wow!"  
"Yes, wow indeed. It is my dream to study medicine to follow in my mother's footsteps as a doctor. I'm leaving in three weeks, but it will be very hard to leave my friends and they will miss me very much as well."  
"What's going to happen when it's time for you to go?"  
"They will come to the airport with me and say their goodbyes. It will probably be very tearful. Especially Serena. But they will all get over the grief in time. Just as I will."  
This was incredibly big news to Rini and it made her think to herself. "Maybe, just maybe, Serena intends to give Amy the Silver Crystal when she leaves the country to stop me from acquiring it. But I'll put a stop to her little game. I'll find a way to search Amy's luggage when she's about to get on her plane and if she does have the crystal I'll take it back to the future with me."

So Rini began trying to formulate plans and strategies in her mind. But other people already had made a plan and strategy of their own for a highly different purpose.  
Later that night when the parlour had closed business and the staff were tidying up ready to go home they had three unexpected visitors. Birdy materialized in their midst along with Frosty and Droido. Droido's face was perfectly restored thanks to Frosty's kind assistance and she, along with her two friends stared at all the terrified ladies. Just as they were beginning to cry out in fright, they were silenced and put into a hypnotized state. Droido, Frosty and Birdy's eyes had all glowed with sinister influence and the staff were all quiet as if the intruders were invisible to them.  
"Well done girls," said Birdy. "Now tomorrow when they all come to work they will carry on as normal, unaware that as they sell their ice cream and people eat it, the Crystal Point in the future city will be handed over to our allies on a silver platter."  
Frosty said, "I shall undertake my position as one of their number to oversee operations. They will work with me as if I really were one of them."  
Droido said, "I hope nothing goes wrong. Rubeus was very unhappy about our failure with the first Crystal Point." She hung her head. "And I was rather to blame."  
Birdy and Frosty cuddled her. Birdy spoke consolingly, "Hey! Don't keep dwelling upon it. We all make mistakes."  
Frosty added, "Live and learn Droido dear."  
Droido threw her arms around them both and they shared one of their intimate group hugs. "Thank you both. I'm blessed to have a pair of friends like you."  
Frosty said, "It's our pleasure Droido. And I'll be sure to do an excellent job. This Crystal Point will be ours."

So the very next day Frosty joined the ice cream parlour staff dressed in a uniform just like they wore. They sold heaps and heaps of ice cream as the store was so popular and although none of the customers realized it, as they enjoyed their yummy treats in the 30th century the area corresponding to where the parlour building was standing became magically protected from those who were trying to fight against the shadowy prince and his forces. The Wiseman and the Grim Man sent a telepathic message to Rubeus saying how very pleased they were that their opponents could no longer set foot in that particular Crystal Point. At the same time their allies were free to enter and leave whenever they wanted.  
Rubeus complimented Birdy and her friends. "Keep up the good work and keep an eye out for Rini if she should show up wanting an ice cream."  
"You can depend on us Rubeus." The trio all mutually vowed to succeed.

But the second day something unforeseen happened.  
Two extraordinary people decided to go out together for a date as a married couple. Just the two of them while their best friend who served as Nanny for their baby boy stayed at home to look after the child.  
As they prepared to go out the front door Dorothy said, "I hope you and Jed have an awesome day Tweetus. I know that Jordan and I will certainly enjoy ourselves."  
Jed and Tweetus were both dressed in their very best clothes and they smiled as they cuddled their friend and their son in her arms.  
"We sure will, thank you Dorothy."  
"See you later Jordan."  
They heard their baby son speaking clear inside their minds. "Have fun Mummy and Daddy."  
He was also learning to speak vocally and added, "Bye bye."  
Jed and Tweetus kissed him, then stepped out through the door hand in hand.  
"Where shall we go first Jed?" asked Tweetus.  
Jed thought of a good suggestion. "Why don't we pay a visit to the new ice cream parlour we've heard so much about Tweetus? We can start with something sweet, then decide where to go next."  
"Sounds fantastic Jed."  
So the Youma couple went for some ice cream.

At the parlour Frosty was serving out the ice cream with all the other girls, who indeed did not question her presence or where she came from. Jed and Tweetus bought themselves a pair of caramel sundaes with pistacchio nuts and sat down at a table together. "Let's dig in Tweetus." Jed raised his spoon and she grinned raising hers as well.  
But as soon as they took their first bite each, they were instantly full of a sense of foreboding. They were very prone to picking up magical or psychic auras after their experiences serving the Negaforce with Queen Beryl and they could tell there was magic of a sort going on here.  
"Jed." Tweetus leaned in close to him and whispered, "I can't tell what is happening, but there's something very suspicious. I could feel it when I tasted my sundae."  
"So could I Tweetus," Jed whispered back. "Wait a minute."

Birdy had just entered the parlour wearing a bright blue sequinned dress and a purple parasol. As she folded it up and went over to quietly talk to Frosty at the counter, Jed's intuition told him that those two people were connected to the feeling he had. Tweetus felt it also. Though Birdy and Frosty were speaking casually in words that would sound innocent even if anybody did overhear them, Jed and Tweetus were highly suspicious.  
"So how's business today Frosty?"  
"No pun intended Birdy, but I'd say it was cool."  
The two ladies chuckled for a few seconds, then Birdy said, "I have some things I really need to discuss with you privately. I've been given some suggestions for your parlour that you may find interesting."  
"Okay Birdy. Come with me." Turning to the nearest of the staff members Frosty told her, "I'm taking my friend down to the basement for a very important talk. I want you and the others to all carry on working until I come back."  
"Yes." The woman answered and as Frosty and Birdy walked past the counter through the preparation room and beyond, Jed and Tweetus rose from their table leaving their sundaes behind.  
"There's no time to waste Tweetus," said Jed as the two of them exited and ducked into a nearby alleyway. Out of sight Tweetus transformed into her alternate form and she and Jed transported themselves hand in hand materializing in the basement.

Barely half a second after they arrived the door opened and Frosty and Birdy appeared in the entrance. They were both startled to see a blond man accompanied by a strange woman with long black hair, red eyes, but no nose or mouth, dressed in a blue body outfit.  
"Who are you?" gasped Frosty.  
Tweetus said, "We are members of an extra-terrestrial race who have come here to live in peace incognito on earth. We psychically sensed magical energy when we started to eat our ice cream and we know that you're behind it."  
Jed added, "Whatever evil you're perpetrating we won't allow you to hurt any of the people here in this city."  
Frosty and Birdy were very nervous and they tried to explain to the alien couple.  
"We assure you that we are not perpetrating anything evil. We have no intention of hurting anybody," said Frosty.  
Birdy seconded her plea. "We are only trying to seek revenge against others who have caused us hurt and grief elsewhere in time."  
Jed indicated that he was not convinced by their claims and neither was Tweetus. She said, "A likely story." As she raised her arms, Frosty and Birdy saw two huge columns of water rise up before each of her open palms from the floor. "You attempt to attack me and my husband and I'll summon up enough water to mash you to pulp. So heed my warning and surrender."  
Birdy sighed and said, "Water eh? Frosty, this is all yours."

Before Jed and Tweetus' startled eyes Frosty suddenly changed appearance. Her ice cream uniform became long, icy blue and white robes and a silver headdress with a large blue jewel in the center with the upside-down crescent moon. Her long blue hair was styled in elaborate long ponytails in loops and an icy blizzard like wind emitted from her mouth. Tweetus found her water frozen completely solid and she and Jed were overcome by the biting cold. As they collapsed chattering Birdy waved her folded parasol at them conjuring up a transparent crystal cube trapping them both inside. Relieved from the cold attack they jumped to their feet and found they were unable to break free. They shook their fists and yelled at Frosty and Birdy but not even the sound could escape.

Birdy sighed. "This was a close call Frosty. It's awkward but we'll have to keep these two prisoner while we carry out our mission. Make sure they get food to keep them alive before the parlour closes."  
"I will but I hate to have to do this to naive innocent beings Birdy."  
"I agree but we'll have to try to show them by kindness that we mean nobody any harm. If we are to have our righteous vengeance against the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo we must not allow any hindrances but try to avoid causing hurt while we do so."  
Jed and Tweetus couldn't make out what they were saying and they continued to curse them in rage.

Dorothy and Jordan were very upset when Jed and Tweetus failed to return. By seven o'clock Dorothy had filed a missing persons report with the police and when they had left promising to let them know immediately if they had any news, she next phoned Serena.  
"Jordan and I are both extremely worried Serena. Something really serious must have befallen them if they were unable to defend themselves. Tweetus especially is so powerful."  
"This is dreadful news Dorothy. Tell Jordan I'll call Raye and the others and we'll hold a meeting at the Cherry Hill Temple. I vow we will locate them."  
"Thank you Serena. I shall try to comfort poor Jordan."  
As she hung up the phone Dorothy ran to gather up Jordan in her arms. She told him everything and as he began to wail she heard him clearly in her mind. "Oh my Daddy. My Mummy. I want them back safe and sound."  
She began to sob also and stammered, "S-s-so do I J-jordan."

The following morning Serena, Amy, Lita, Mina, Luna, Artemis and even Rini all joined Raye to observe her make attempt to consult the Sacred Fire. "Great fire. Please tell me where to find Jed and Tweetus. They are in terrible trouble. Please tell me now."  
She earnestly and fervently prayed but she raised her head in despair. "This is serious. The fire cannot get even the remotest reading on Jed and Tweetus."  
Amy tried her data computer. "They must be in a heavily protected magical environment. Even my computer isn't picking up a trace."  
"Poor Dorothy and Jordan," said Lita. "They'll be overcome with grievous worry."  
Artemis said, "You girls must all search the city. Including you Amy while you're still with us."  
They all swore to find their missing friends and Rini just observed quietly. She was mostly thinking about how she might get a chance to spend time with Amy before she left and search for the Silver Crystal.

But in the meantime the five girls searched high and low for Jed and Tweetus. But no success. And then on top of that Amy learned that her appointed time to be at the German university had been moved ahead by two weeks. She had to reschedule her flight's departure and the week went by super fast while she tried her best to help her friends with the search.  
Amy felt dreadful but she had no choice but to prepare for her departure leaving the others to carry on without her. Now there would be no time for her friends to see her off at the airport after all. They had far more important matters on their hands.  
And furthermore all this time Frosty was keeping Jed and Tweetus secure in the ice cream parlour basement and as the public kept going back for ice cream again and again, the more they ate, the more strong was the hold their allies had over the Crystal Point in the future.

It was at this time that the Sailor Scouts were preparing to consider checking out the area of town where the ice cream parlour was located. Mina was observing the crowd out the front from where she sat on a nearby public bench with Artemis by her side. "It's really weird Mina. Luna tells me she usually senses evil vibes anyplace where people are planning no good. But nowhere in town is giving off any such alerts to her. So we must keep searching all places blindly for our missing friends. I suggest that when the crowd thins down towards closing time we call the others and investigate this place together next."  
"Roger Artemis," said Mina. She was determined like the rest of the Scouts to track down and rescue Jed and Tweetus.  
She called all the others, except Amy, who was trying to get ready to pack for her flight when it was three quarters of an hour to closing time. They came as fast as they could and Luna and Artemis directed them to sneak around to the back of the building, where they all transformed and joining hands in a circle just like when they transported themselves to Queen Beryl's domain they shimmered and vanished. Only this time they merely transported to the nearby basement and they also took Luna and Artemis with them. They had stood in the middle of this circle so they'd be included in the magic along with the Scouts. There they discovered Jed and Tweetus still held prisoner inside the transparent cube prison. Their faces lit up with hope when they saw their friends. Tweetus had changed back into her human form since she had no mouth with which to eat the food Frosty always gave them. Birdy had even been thoughtful enough to magically supply a small bathroom in the corner big enough to house them one at a time. They were still very resentful about being held prisoner, but all their needs were being met by their captors.

However they eagerly pressed their hands and faces up against the crystallized walls and Sailor Moon threw herself up against the other side sobbing with joyful hysterics. "Jed! Tweetus! We've been so worried!"  
Then turning to her friends she asked if there was any way to free them.  
Sailor Mars stepped forward. "Let me have a try." She took her charms out of her pockets. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!" And so she placed a couple of her charms on the cube near both edges and they all held their breath to see what the effect would be.  
The charms burst into flames and burned away to ashes. But to the mutual disappointment of all present, Jed and Tweetus' prison was not so much as even blemished.

Just then the door opened and Frosty appeared accompanied by Birdy, who was dressed in a blue outfit resembling some sort of swimwear, tall, blue boots that went up to her knees and white bandage like gloves. Droido was also with them and she was in the same appearance in which Sailor Moon had fought her complete with the perfume dispenser perched on her head with the pump hanging down. The three of them had the usual trays of food and drink for Jed and Tweetus, but they pulled up short when they saw the new intruders.  
"It's the Sailor Scouts!" cried Frosty.  
"Our enemies! Those evil monsters!" snarled Droido.  
Sailor Moon and her friends couldn't believe what they had just heard. "What do you mean by that? I am Sailor Moon, the sworn enemy of all that's evil. On behalf of the Moon and our respective planets we will punish you three monsters."  
Birdy screamed. "You're a liar! You and your friends are murderers! Frosty! Punish them!"  
Even as Sailors Moon, Mars, Jupiter and Venus began to run forward to take up battle positions, Frosty transformed into her blue robes and headdress and then bombarded them with her icy breath. The Sailor Scouts keeled over shivering with the cold and so did Artemis and Luna, who had been going to help them fight. They could feel themselves slowly freezing to death and they couldn't fight back. It was as if they were caught in an arctic blizzard. Not even Sailor Mars had the strength to try her fire attack. She was struck down and couldn't so much as sit up and stop hugging herself with chattering teeth.  
They didn't know what they could do. Jed and Tweetus watched horrified but helpless to make any attempt to intervene.  
Droido and Birdy walked into the cellar and moved off to the side to watch in satisfaction and admiration for their mutual friend.  
"Frosty will execute them slowly and painfully Droido. We will be doing our prince a great service. If we can kill them here in the past, logically they will disappear out of existence in the future."  
"Yeah. And then the lives of all our loved ones they murdered heartlessly will be avenged. I'm so excited Birdy."  
Birdy and Droido were rubbing their hands together gleefully, as Frosty relentlessly blew her tormenting icy breath like a blizzard. Ice was even forming on the floor where the Sailor Scouts were crouched huddling close together, vainly trying to share bodily warmth. It did not look hopeful for them at all.

Meanwhile at Amy's house, she was just finishing packing the last of her luggage. She snapped the locks shut on both of her two suitcases while Rini was watching. Amy had agreed to allow Rini to visit her during the afternoon before her flight was due to depart at half-past seven that night. It was now half-past six and Darien had promised to show up around this time to drive Amy to the airport.  
"There. I'm all ready now for when Darien arrives Rini."  
"That's good," said Rini. She had formed a plan and was about to bounce her ball and use some of her magic to hypnotize Amy, allowing her to carefully search her suitcases for the Silver Imperium Crystal.

But before she could proceed with her intention Amy's mother walked in saying, "Amy. Your friend Greg's on the phone. You'd better have a quick word with him."  
"Okay, yes Mum." Amy jumped up and followed her mother out the room to the phone. "Pardon me Rini."  
Rini couldn't believe the way things had turned out. "Well, this is my chance." Bouncing her ball she said quietly, "Mini Magic Tricks. Give me an X-ray scanner and detector device to check Amy's luggage for the Silver Crystal."  
Her ball changed into a rectangular device with a monitor screen, which she placed on the lid of each suitcase. Looking at the images projected onto the monitor she searched for anything that even remotely resembled the Silver Crystal and she pressed buttons that would enable the machine to actually identify if it should be hidden inside anything. If it had been detected Rini intended to magically pick the lock and use the key around her neck to return to Crystal Tokyo. But she couldn't get any positive reading. "I guess Amy mustn't be taking it away after all," she thought to herself. So she changed the device back into her magic ball and innocently sat down to wait for Amy to wish her goodbye.

But she never saw Amy come back. Instead Amy's mother came in and said, "Rini. Amy's gone."  
Rini jumped up in surprise. "What? Why didn't she take her luggage?"  
Amy's mother wasn't in the least bit looking upset as she opened a suitcase and began to unpack. "Because after her friend Greg called her up and chatted for a few minutes, she told me she realized that she wasn't really ready for this move yet. She's not ready at fifteen years of age to leave all her family and friends and quit her regular schooling to go and study to be a doctor. She really wants to wait until she's more grown up in another three or four years. To be honest I'm rather glad she changed her decision at the last minute and so's her father. We were prepared to support her choice if she did take the opportunity now, though we much rather wanted her to wait until age eighteen."  
Rini's mouth hung open as she struggled to find words. "Uh. Um. So where has she gone if she's not going overseas?"  
"As soon as that nice man Darien arrived and we explained the change of plans he agreed to drive her instead to meet up with her friends and tell them the exciting news. I know they'll be very happy when they find out."  
But Rini's thoughts were racing. "Could this have all been an elaborate trick to distract my attention? What if while I was trying to spy on Amy the others all helped Serena hide the Silver Crystal someplace else? Oh, it's so unfair. But they won't beat me. I will discover where they have put the crystal for my mother and our world of Crystal Tokyo."

While Darien was driving Amy to where she directed him, she said to him personally, "I'm so very glad Greg called me in time to tell me about the vision he had of my friends in trouble before I boarded the plane Darien. They need me more urgently than I need to go and study. They need Sailor Mercury to help them fight these strange new enemies."  
"I understand Amy. Do you want any back-up from Tuxedo Mask?"  
Amy paused a moment, then replied, "If you please Darien. This is one time according to Greg's vision that I must save the others on my own. If Jed and Tweetus are to be freed in particular, you must rather wait outside in the car."  
"Sure. Okay. I trust Greg and what he says he foresaw," said Darien and Amy thanked him.

As soon as they pulled up outside the closed ice cream parlour, Amy jumped out and transformed into Sailor Mercury. Then she said, "I hate to break the door down like a burglar would do, but this is an emergency."  
Darien climbed out of the car and said, "Wait a minute Sailor Mercury. You never said that Greg's vision would forbid me helping you get inside the building at least. Let me put my shoulder to that front door."  
"Okay Darien. But I insist we do it together."  
"Very well." Darien and Sailor Mercury steadied themselves ready to charge at the same time. "On the count of three Mercury. One. Two. Three."  
They both threw their shoulders at the door and it splintered upon their combined impact.  
"There you go. Good luck," said Darien as he rubbed his shoulder and walked back to the car.  
Sailor Mercury thanked him. Then she was running towards the basement as fast and as silently as she could.

When she reached the open door to the basement she could see the scene just as Greg had described it to her. While Frosty continued to threaten to freeze her friends into snow-corpses she summoned up her most powerful new attack ever since she had frozen the Cardian Skulker during the alien attack upon the little babies in the Day Care Center. "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" Without even alerting anybody to her presence she shouted out her attack and just as Frosty turned around in shock at the sound, she screamed as she was hit and encased, not in ice per se, but an icy mist that surrounded her and appeared to be causing her pain as well as having trapped her.  
"Hey! Sailor Mercury's here!" cried Sailor Moon.  
"Sailor Moon! Attack her now!" Sailor Mercury pointed at Frosty and Sailor Moon took off her tiara saying, "Yeah. Yeah."  
But just as the tiara turned into the scepter, a different sort of icy blast blew Sailor Moon off her feet. It came from Birdy's outstretched hands. "No! No!" She cried. "Not dear Frosty!" At this very moment Droido was squeezing her perfume pump and spewing forth her acid to carefully cross above Frosty's head melting the icy prison that held her.  
Birdy ran towards Frosty shooting her attacks at the other Sailor Scouts taking them by surprise. Droido had tentatively turned to attack Sailor Mercury, but she had inexplicably disappeared from the doorway. So she ran after Birdy and together they caught Frosty just as she was about to collapse face down on the floor.  
Somewhat scared Birdy cried, "Let's get out of here girls."  
But before they dematerialized she gestured magically to the prison cube and Jed and Tweetus disappeared from inside it.  
Sailor Mercury entered the door from where she had deliberately ducked backwards out of sight and helped her friends to their feet.

She did have some slightly awkward explaining to do.  
"Mercury. What just happened?" asked Sailor Venus.  
"Didn't you realize those other two enemies were also present?" asked Sailor Mars.  
"Why didn't you zap them also?" groaned Sailor Moon.  
"I'm sorry everybody, but Greg phoned me to tell me I couldn't leave because of a vision he'd had of you in trouble. He told me specifically that I actually needed to let them all escape after initially saving you for the sake of Jed and Tweetus. You would never be able to get them out of that magical prison trap. It was too strong. The only way was for them to free them as they fled."  
"But where are Jed and Tweetus?" cried Sailor Jupiter and even as they watched the cube itself faded to nothing.  
Sailor Mercury didn't know the answer to this question. Greg's vision hadn't been clear about that. But then their friends materialized in their midst themselves.  
"Jed! Tweetus! Are you all right? What happened?" Sailor Moon blurted out.  
"We're not sure Sailor Moon," said Jed.  
"We were harmlessly transported to the other end of the city far away. We transported ourselves back here to make sure you were all right," said Tweetus.

So as they all discussed things together the story began to become apparent. But it was even weirder than ever.  
Sailor Moon was almost at her wits' end. "So there was definitely some kind of magic in the ice cream. And yet there has been no evidence that they ever caused anybody harm. People kept coming back again and again to eat more ice cream with no adverse reactions."  
Sailor Mars continued Sailor Moon's confused train of thought. "And they didn't harm Jed and Tweetus, though they imprisoned them. It's very much like the Cosmetics store. They were trying to run a respectable business. Yet still as soon as they saw us they tried to kill us."  
Sailor Venus chimed in. "And they spoke as if we were the enemy. They accused us of murder in fact."  
Sailor Moon was almost ready to have a fit. "Ah! This situation is so nonsensical I'm about ready to lose my mind."

Anyway in conclusion Jed and Tweetus helped out by using their own magic to repair the front door of the parlour as they all left. In the morning the staff would come to work finding nothing out of the ordinary and they wouldn't remember Frosty or her friends at all. Jed and Tweetus thanked the Sailor Scouts for coming to their rescue, wished them good luck and transported themselves back to their home where Dorothy and Baby Jordan were both so overjoyed to see them back safe and sound.  
The five girls changed back to their civilian identities and there was just enough room for them all to fit inside Darien's car, so he could drive them all to their homes. Artemis and Luna decided to patrol the city together for awhile that night on the offchance they could locate any clues to these unusual ladies. Darien delivered Raye, Mina and Lita first and picked up Rini at Amy's house. Then he dropped her and Serena off together. But Serena could tell by the look on his face that there was nothing to be discussed and he would not come in to talk to her family at all. She wasn't truthfully too worried about Darien currently anyway. She and her friends were all mulling over the mystery they were facing. So was Darien since they had explained it all to him in the car.  
"Goodnight girls," said he as he pulled up at Serena's house.  
"Goodnight Darien," said Rini and Serena also said goodnight though they momentarily shared a pained glance at each other. Darien sighed and drove away leaving her forlornly standing there.  
Then Rini said, "Come on inside Serena," and with a groan she did turn to follow Rini inside and get ready for dinner followed by bed.

As for Birdy and her friends they reported to Rubeus. He was forced to smile and compliment them. "Even though the Sailor Scouts put a stop to your work at the ice cream parlour and you failed to destroy them, I have received word from the Wiseman and the Grim Man that our prince is very pleased with the successful establishment of our power over the corresponding Crystal Point in Crystal Tokyo."  
"Thank you Rubeus. We worked as hard as we could. Especially Frosty."  
Birdy placed her hand on Frosty's shoulder, who grinned and said, "It was my pleasure to serve our mutual cause."  
Rubeus said, "Thank you. You three may take a rest from active duty now. I will appoint other members of our team to the next point when I'm told where it will be. But in the meantime keep thinking of ways to trap that Rini."  
"Yes Rubeus." The trio bowed and left his presence. Together in private quarters they sat around in a circle discussing what had just happened that night. Birdy said she sincerely hoped that those two aliens were alive and well. "I sent them as far away from the Sailor Scouts as possible. Hopefully they were not tracked down by them. I hate to think what may have happened to them."  
Droido said, "What you fear Birdy could have happened to Frosty tonight. And it almost happened to me on that earlier occasion."  
Frosty was very upset but so relieved to have escaped with the help of her friends. "I'm indebted to you both forever."  
"Don't sweat it," said Birdy. "We're friends you know. But we've had a couple of very close calls. Let us solemnly vow to watch out for each other in our future participation in this war against those wretched Sailor Scouts and the rulers of Crystal Tokyo."  
Droido and Frosty agreed and they clasped hands. "To protect each other for our friendship," said Birdy.  
"We will stick together," said Droido.  
"Fight together always," said Frosty.  
"Best friends side by side," added Birdy.  
"Come whatever may we will be inseparable," added Droido.  
"To the very end," added Frosty on a solemn note as they sat together looking at their joined hands for the next three minutes or so at least.


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER 4

It was getting very close to the end of the school holidays and Serena and her friends were all very excited that Amy was now going to be staying to attend her regular school in the new term instead of going to Germany. Well especially Serena and Lita, because Amy was enrolled in the exact same school as themselves. Serena always enjoyed hanging out with both of them. When she wasn't hanging out with Miss Haruna. In detention that is.

But at the moment Serena was sitting slumped forward in her chair, her arms sprawled out and her head resting on top of her dresser table fast asleep. She had set her alarm clock for half past six that morning so she'd have time to get dressed and then go to the Cherry Hill Temple for the day to assist Raye in managing things such as selling the Good Luck Charms. The other girls were also going to be helping. When the alarm went off Luna yawned. "Good morning Serena. Remember you have one hour to get dressed and ready. You must leave at half past seven if you are to get to Raye's temple on time."  
"Yes Luna. I'll be ready in no time," said she as Luna curled up on her bedcovers to get more of a morning catnap.

Luna did force herself to stay awake while Serena grabbed her clothes, ducked outside to the bathroom and came back dressed. While sitting down in front of the dresser table mirror brushing her long hair tied in her usual long plaits, Luna assumed things could be depended upon and said with another yawn, "See you later Serena."  
"Have a nice rest Luna. Bye," Serena replied.  
But as soon as Luna dozed off, Serena thought to herself, "You know. Half past six is such a beastly time of the morning to wake up. I think I'll just rest for five minutes before I go. Right here."  
As she leaned over onto the surface of the dresser table she thought, "I won't sleep. I'll just rest my eyes for five minutes at most to get my strength up."  
However barely had the first minute passed when she was fast asleep again too, like Luna.

Rini woke up in her spare bedroom at precisely eight o'clock and having quickly dressed herself, decided to take a peek at what Serena was up to.  
Seeing that her bedroom door was exactly half open already she crept up glancing inside. Seeing her asleep where she lay, she tiptoed in through the space. Her small body easily slipped in between the gap and she made her way quietly up to Serena.  
"I'll take this opportunity to search Serena's clothing for the Silver Crystal," she thought.  
She didn't know it, but she was very close to having the crystal in her hands as it hung around Serena's neck inside her transformation locket. Perhaps she may have succeeded but for two things. First Rini wasn't exactly a masterfully skilled pickpocket. Second Serena was extremely ticklish.  
With a laugh she awoke and turning seized hold of Rini's wrists and lifted her bodily off the ground as she sprang out of her chair.  
"Let me go! Put me down!" cried Rini.  
"You little rascal," said Serena. "You tell me exactly who you are, where you come from and what you want with my crystal?"  
Rini would probably have begun to scream and that would have brought Mum, Dad and Sammy running to Serena's bedroom. They would have been very furious to see Serena apparently bullying her little cousin but fortunately she was spared the consequences of such a scenario by Luna, who having been woken up by the commotion just next to where she had curled up on the bed, immediately sprang up on Serena's shoulder making her drop Rini in sudden surprise.  
"Serena," she hissed in her ear. "Why are you still here? It's after eight o'clock."  
"Oh no! I'm going to be late! Raye will be so annoyed!"  
Luna nimbly sprang to the floor as Serena ran off to rush as fast as she possibly could to the Cherry Hill Temple, ignoring Rini where she lay on the floor rubbing her backside and muttering, "Surely there must be an easier way to locate that crystal. Ouch."

At the temple Amy, Mina and Lita had been working hard with Raye for some time. There were plenty of students present that day wanting to buy the charms in the hope that they would help them acheive successful results when school started up again soon. But when Serena appeared all out of breath from running all the way from her home, Raye rolled her eyes and frowned while the others all sighed. They politely said nothing but Raye sighed and said, "Okay Serena. Get this temple uniform on and join us."  
Serena held out her arms and took the red and white robes and the sandals Raye handed to her.  
Serena blushed. "I'm very sorry Raye," she began to say but Raye cut her off.  
"Save it Serena. It's done now. You can change in the girls' bathroom over there."  
"O-okay." Serena entered the bathroom and undressing started to try to put the robes on. But after fumbling with them for at least ten minutes she had a sudden start as Raye walked over and called behind the door.

"Why are you taking so long?"  
Sheepishly Serena called back. "Uh. I keep getting tangled up. Could you help me please Raye?"  
Desperately trying not to lose her patience Raye called over to Amy. "Will you kindly go in and assist Serena please? I can't do it."  
Amy and the other two for that matter, could tell by Raye's expression what she was inwardly going through.  
So Amy stood up, said, "Of course. My pleasure Raye," and entered the bathroom, where she helped Serena to dress, technically meaning that she dressed her entirely herself, because Serena still couldn't dress herself despite Amy's initial efforts to explain her directions.

But finally she and Serena exited both wearing the temple's standard uniform perfectly. Then as they all sat at the counter serving customers, Raye mentioned, "By the way. Chad and Grandfather are attempting to open a Martial Arts Class here Monday through to Friday beginning next week. They've advertised in a magazine and posted fliers around town."  
The girls were very interested. Particularly Lita. "I'd love to come. I love Martial Arts. I could even help out as a teacher."  
Serena grinned and said, "Whatever will be happening here next Raye? I wish you good luck."  
So did the others and Raye thanked them for their encouragement. In three days on Wednesday they were due to commence business. She echoed their hopes that the project would be successful and make some more money for them.

It turned out that Grandfather and Chad had every good reason to be delighted and excited because they received plenty of positive response from the community about their Martial Arts Classes. Fifteen women wanted to sign up and also five men, making twenty in all. They paid their initial yearly joining fees and after the first half week beginning Wednesday, they would only pay a small weekly fee covering the five nights Monday through to Friday irrespective of how often they were able to attend. They were really looking forward to their first night's coaching and Raye was very happy. She wished them good luck, but on Tuesday night while they slept soundly they had an intruder.

It was Birdy's older sister Catzi. She materialized in the middle of the dojo set-up. With a triumphant smile she gestured in a circular motion turning herself all the way round. The room was briefly bathed in blue green light in the darkness. Then she disappeared and appeared back inside their spaceship in front of Rubeus, her sisters and all the Droids. "I've accomplished my task Rubeus," she announced with pride.  
"Very good Catzi," said Rubeus. "This will be an easy Crystal Point to take over. We won't need to take over the counterpart place here at all. Every time there is a Martial Training Class as scheduled, none of the people will be aware that as they train hard and devotedly, they will be strengthening our prince's power in Crystal Tokyo. We all need to congratulate you."  
"Good job Catzi!" Birdy and her other sisters cheered as they and the rest of their team applauded. Even Rubeus. The Sailor Scouts would never know what was going on under their noses. Now they were all free to invest their resources in tracking down Rini while the Crystal Point took care of itself.

So the class sessions were established from half past seven to half past nine five evenings a week. After getting off to a good beginning Wednesday, Thursday and Friday the students all talked about the classes to their families and friends over the weekend and a few others decided to join too. Among them were, of all people, Miss Haruna. She attended all nights the following week and she loved it. School started up again the very next week, but she still found time to squeeze in at least three nights a week. She quickly learned to prepare most of her lessons in advance on the weekend so she was free for her beloved Martial Arts.  
She told Mrs. Humphreys, "I am having so much fun Helen. Why don't you come with me next week?"  
Mrs. Humphreys agreed. "I might come at least to watch and see if I'd like to take it up myself Patricia. I'll prepare a few sewing lessons ahead of schedule this weekend, so I can go check it out when you go."  
"You'll be blown away. I guarantee Helen," answered Miss Haruna.

Meanwhile in Crystal Tokyo, the forces of the mysterious prince were granted free rein in control over the corresponding Crystal Point. The warriors who were trying their best to oppose the invasion of their glorious empire had already been so bitterly frustrated when they were completely blocked off from the area where the ice cream parlour stood in the past and now they found they were hopelessly held back from entering this second area also. Some of the prince's own Droid forces were now permanently residing in each of these two Crystal Points. They held positions of government over the people who lived there. They were all very scared even though the Droids told them that they need not fear anything as long as they submitted themselves to the rule of the prince. "Our prince bears you no ill will. None of us do. Our only desire is for revenge against those who rule here. We know you are not responsible for the pain and sorrow your rulers have inflicted on us."

Nobody could understand it. But they realized it was obvious these invaders really believed their actions were justified. They couldn't believe that their king and queen would have done any wrong to these strange people. But whenever anybody tried to reason with any of them, they would firmly but gently cut them off making it clear that they believed they were innocent, but ignorant of the truth. Needless to say there was deep worry and tension in the people about what this would mean for Crystal Tokyo in the near future.

Getting back to the Martial Arts Class, the Wiseman kept watching it very closely with his crystal ball to be certain things were running smoothly. But one evening he saw something that was of critical importance to their cause. He told the Grim Man and they sent special word to Rubeus. He in turn called everybody to a meeting in the main center of their spaceship. "I've been informed by the Wiseman that he and the Grim Man are going to be making a special visitation to us right here in person within the next twenty minutes."  
"They're actually coming from the future to see us?" cried Catzi in awe and all the others echoed the amazement they all shared.  
Rubeus continued. "Yes that's right. They have a vitally important message for us."

They all waited with baited breath and finally in the center of the floor the pair appeared.  
Rubeus led them all in humble bowing. "Welcome Masters. Tell us what you wish us to know please."  
"Rubeus. We have discovered that the child Rini has just now enrolled with that Martial Arts Class at the Crystal Point," the Wiseman declared and they all gasped in eager surprise.  
The Grim Man said, "We want you to show up at the next class session tomorrow and capture her. You can use your magic reserves to paralyze everybody before you strike, so they won't register your presence while you take her captive."  
"If you bring her back tomorrow night, our hold over the royal Crystal Tokyo family will be well nigh protected," said the Wiseman.  
"You can depend upon us Masters. I'll select some of us tomorrow and we'll prepare for our mission," said Rubeus.  
The Wiseman said, "We and the prince himself are counting upon you all Rubeus. Let's go now Grim Man."  
With that the creepy duo faded away even as everybody vowed to apprehend Rini.

Rini was very keen on learning Martial Arts and she had used the same magical hypnosis with which she was keeping Serena's family convinced of her identity on Grandfather. At first when he'd seen her he'd been startled remembering how he had pursued her while she'd been crying only to have seen her suddenly vanish before his eyes. But Rini had foreseen this possibility and clutching the ball she always carried with her tightly to her chest and concentrating hard, she'd stared him in the eyes and he had forgotten all about the strange past incident.  
"Well well. So your name is Rini and you'd like to learn Martial Arts." He had laughed heartily in a jovial manner. "You're never too young to begin I suppose. So welcome to our school Rini."  
"Thank you sir." Rini was so thrilled.

Serena had agreed to walk with Rini to and from the temple. Her parents had said, "We want you to start being even nicer and showing more care for your little cousin."  
Serena had mixed feelings about Rini. On the one hand she thought her a colossal pain in the neck. But on the other hand she was convinced that for all her faults, Rini was indeed an innocent kid. And though she refused to open up and tell Serena or any of the others why she was so desperate to get her hands on the Silver Crystal, she had given Serena and Darien some inkling of the back story one time when they were in the form of Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask. So she was begrudgingly happy to safely escort Rini. Not to mention she didn't want to aggravate her parents and risk being grounded.  
Rini was nice and friendly enough as they walked together the following evening. "Why don't you consider signing up for the classes yourself Serena? They're so exciting you know."  
Serena replied. "Um. Perhaps I will at some future point Rini. But for now Raye and I are spending some quality social time together while you do your training."  
The real truth is that Raye and Serena were having conferences with the other girls via their communicators whenever possible. Rini unknowingly winked and said, "You should try and get Raye to train with us also. At least offer it to her as a suggestion."  
"Okay Rini. I will do that," said Serena to humour her.

As soon as they arrived Serena left Rini with Grandfather, Chad and all the others and she went to sit with Raye in the Shrine of the Sacred Fire. That night only Lita was free to talk to them on her communicator. Mina and her family were visiting friends for dinner and Amy's parents had taken her shopping that evening for textbooks she required for the beginning of the new term.  
Lita sat quietly in her bedroom as she discussed their strategies with Serena and Raye. "Things have been very quiet from our opponents these past few weeks. I'm worried. They must be planning a super big attack."  
"Fully agreed Lita," said Raye. "We must be wide eyed and alert."  
No sooner had she said this than Raye quickly snapped to attention. "Hey! The fire's trying to tell me something. Hold on."  
Handing the communicator to Serena, Raye crawled over to the flames on her hands and knees and began to pray. "Great fire. Please tell me what is going on. I beseech you."

What was going on was that shortly after the evenings' class had started Catzi and her partner Rhonda had materialized in the midst of everybody. But they barely had any chance to cry out or react in any way before Catzi had gestured with outstretched arms and all the people including Chad, were standing still like statues.  
"You're ours now Rini," sneered Catzi. "Get her Rhonda."  
"Oh no!" Rini wailed as the huge, muscular form of Rhonda came lumbering up to grab her.

But suddenly Grandfather planted an unexpected karate kick to Rhonda's shin making her collapse on to one knee in pain and surprise.  
Catzi was astounded. "You're not paralyzed?"  
Grandfather stood steely eyed and ready to spring. "As a priest of this temple I have trained my mind to resist magical attacks lady. Very rarely am I ever placed under a spell. I won't let you harm this little girl."  
Rhonda rose to her feet saying, "We don't want to have to hurt you old man. But we must capture this child for the sake of our triumph against our enemies."  
"Don't give me any of that. Run Rini!" Grandfather shouted as he stood in front of her and Rhonda. Rini didn't need to be told twice. She ran for it while Catzi cried out to Rhonda.  
"Take care of the old man as gently as possible Rhonda. I'll try to grab the kid."

Catzi sprang up into the air and zoomed across to the other side of the room, her arms reaching downwards about to grasp Rini while she desperately tried to flee.  
Grandfather was putting up a valient battle. But Rhonda was really enormously strong. His first attack had only been lucky since Rhonda had not been expecting it. She blocked his punches and punched him instead knocking him down. He kept jumping up and trying to connect with punches or kicks. Rhonda deflected them all and struck him down again and again. "I'm trying to go easy on you," she said. "Why must you be so stubborn?"  
Meanwhile as Catzi lunged for Rini something else unanticipated happened.

Something struck her in the face stunning her before she could reach Rini. As Rini kept on running Catzi fell to the floor in a heap unconscious. Sailor Moon reached out her hand and caught her Moon Scepter. She had thrown it at Catzi in a remarkable spinning motion. It had knocked Catzi out and then amazingly had been deflected still spinning back to Sailor Moon, like a boomerang.  
Rini pulled up short and gasped to see Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars standing next to her. She knew she had nothing to fear now. She jumped for joy and cheered.

Rhonda wasn't even aware of what had happened. She had just delivered an extra hard blow to Grandfather reluctantly in order to lay him down and he groaned in pain.  
The sight of seeing that happen to her beloved Grandfather made Sailor Mars boil like an exploding volcano. In her unquenchable rage she summoned up a brand new power from deep within her. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
As Grandfather was lying dazed and moaning upon the floor, Rhonda snapped to attention at the sound of Sailor Mars' booming voice. As Mars summoned up rings of fire in mid-air and sent them flying straight at Rhonda, she made attempt to counterattack.  
Boldly she summoned up whirlwinds of energy from her arms when she flexed her muscles. As they shot out they fought against the rings of fire. They held them back and Rhonda cried out, "I'll send your own weapon flying straight back at you."  
Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon both gasped in terror. Sailor Moon couldn't attack fast enough to save Sailor Mars. In seconds her own fire would be blown back at her point blank.

But just then another sort of object came flying in a rotational effect. Of all things, it was a rose and as it spun up to Rhonda's psychic energy it was followed by a second one. Their whirly motion halted Rhonda's attack dispersing it and also freeing the rings of fire. Incredibly the two roses were not even singed by the fire, but as they finished spinning and fell to stick their stems into the floor side by side, they redirected Sailor Mars' attack back towards Rhonda really fast. As they struck they set Rhonda's clothes on fire and as she began to scream and vainly attempt to beat out the flames, Sailor Moon, Sailor Mars and Rini all turned to see Tuxedo Mask standing in the open doorway behind them.  
"Tuxedo Mask! You've come again!" cried Sailor Moon but he cried back at her.  
"Don't waste time Sailor Moon! Use your scepter!"  
"Oh, right. MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
Sailor Moon aimed her attack straight at Rhonda, just as she was about ready to run away in despair, her whole upper torso practically being consumed by a raging celestial inferno. The effect of the scepter's power combined with the flames set Rhonda exploding with a sound like a firecracker. Sailor Moon's tiara was indeed far more immensely powerful now that it could be transformed into this scepter. Rhonda was reduced to the same minuscule atomic particles as the wicked aliens Peter and Jenny had been. It seemed highly unlikely that anybody could have the slightest chance of surviving her new improved attack such as the Youma had done in the past. And even then that had only been an extremely rare outcome. As it was the only thing that was left of Rhonda was the jewel with the trademark symbol of the dark upside-down crescent engraved in it that she had been sporting inside the belt of her outfit.  
Sailor Moon turned around but to her dismay Tuxedo Mask had already vanished and in his place was Sailor Jupiter running in breathlessly. "Did I miss anything?"  
Rini was very excited to see her. She knew all about the Sailor Scouts.

But before she or anybody else could say anything more, they heard a groan and turning saw Catzi begin to slowly climb shakily to her feet. "What happened? Where's my partner?"  
Sailor Moon pointed her scepter at her and said in a stern monotone, "Your partner's dead. And so are you if you don't surrender and tell us why you are harassing poor Rini."  
Catzi practically screamed in rage. "YOU KILLED RHONDA?"

Everybody's ears rang with the loud volume pitch of this stinging accusation. Including Grandfather's, who was shaking his head trying to get his full bearings after being half knocked out.  
For a moment the Sailor Scouts thought Catzi would be so daring as to make an attack, even though Sailor Moon had her scepter trained upon her. But Catzi knew when to fight and when to run away. So she dematerialized before any of them could blink an eye.  
But though Catzi was physically no longer present, they heard her angry voice call out scathingly, "You are a ruthless killer Sailor Moon. We shall avenge Rhonda and all your other victims next time."  
"This has to be some kind of elaborate trick to confuse us," declared Sailor Moon.  
"Guess you're probably right," said Sailor Mars as she bent down and pocketed the jewel that lay on the floor.  
"Sailor Scouts," cried Grandfather getting to his feet. "What's going on here? My students and Chad?"  
But even as he was speaking they began to become unparalyzed. Sailor Moon and her friends were beginning to get a little nervous. What would they say to them all? And what if Grandfather suddenly wanted to know how Raye and Serena were? What if he insisted on going to check on them at once? How could they offer explanation for their absence and their subsequent reappearance when the Sailor Scouts were gone?

But fortunately they were spared having to worry about anything. Young Rini thought to herself, "I want to keep as low a profile as possible. I don't want a great deal of undue attention or unease within anything I'm involved in. I know just what to do."  
She held her ball tight against her chest and drawing on its hypnotic charges she walked out in front of the Scouts and even as people attempted to ask questions she cried out as loud as she could, "Everybody! Listen to me!"

Having obtained the attention she sought the people, including Chad and Grandfather all locked eyes on her and as she squeezed her ball tightly releasing its mystical waves she began to speak just like a hypnotist. "Nothing out of the ordinary has been happening tonight. We've all been enjoying our Martial Arts training together. Do you understand? Nothing has been happening except our training."  
She was encircling the entire ring of people while Sailor Moon and her two friends watched astonished in the center. Everybody's eyes were glassy and they chanted in a unified monotone. "We understand. Nothing except our training."  
"Good," Rini went on. "As soon as Sailor Moon and the other two leave, I'll snap my fingers and you won't even remember their being here at all. Is that clear?"  
"Yes. Very clear."  
Rini turned and smiled at the astounded Sailors. "I haven't hurt anybody Sailor Moon. I was told to try to fit in like an ordinary kid during my search for the Silver Crystal and at all costs to avoid bringing any indication of my connection to the enemy who are trying to stop me. My good friend who sent me here to the past gave me this magic ball to perform miracles to help me including the power to hypnotize. That's how I was able to establish myself as a member of a family here in this city. I was also told you and your friends would be here to give me assistance when I need it."

Sailor Moon silently gasped. So that was what had happened to her parents and younger brother Sammy. Rini had used her power to make them believe she was their niece and cousin. But why then she wondered hadn't Rini attempted to hypnotize her too? She could have told her to hand over the crystal under hypnosis. What a big mystery there was around such a small girl.  
Rini ran over to the two roses stuck in the floor, pulled them out and quickly handed them to Sailor Moon breaking these thoughts she was having to herself.  
"Here! You'd better take these. I don't want to have them wondering where they came from. Next time you see dear Tuxedo Mask please give one back to him and keep the other for yourself."  
"Uh sure. Okay." Sailor Moon was taken aback by the look in Rini's eyes as she gave her the roses. They seemed so full of love. As if she was expressing intimate feelings of some kind. She wished she knew just who this little girl really was.  
"Well then. I guess we had better be off Mars and Jupiter." She turned to the others who agreed. After all what else could they do?  
The three of them said goodbye to Rini and Sailor Jupiter headed back to her home while Serena and Raye resumed their secret identities back in the Shrine of the Sacred Flame.

Serena stared at the roses before slipping them into her bag and Raye took out the jewel that was left behind when Rhonda was destroyed. They stared at it then at each other. They didn't know what to make of it all but Raye said she would keep trying to find information through fire readings.  
So they filled in their time in this manner until Serena had to take Rini home after the rest of the training class had normally finished.  
None of them, not even Grandfather, had the slightest inkling of what had taken place. Rini was very relieved. Her friend was extremely powerful and knew how to control people when necessary for good purposes. It was to her credit that the power she had shared with Rini was able to successfully charm a strong old man like Grandfather.

As for Catzi, as soon as she arrived back at their spacecraft she delivered the bad news. "Catzi! What happened? And where is Rhonda?" asked Rubeus.  
Catzi bowed her head, clenched her fists and said slowly, "The Sailor Scouts prevented us from capturing our target once again. I was knocked out by a surprise attack and while I was unconscious Sailor Moon murdered Rhonda."  
There was a huge gasp from all the occupants of the spacecraft. Even Rubeus was aghast. To have lost part of their team was a deeply felt blow for them all.  
He made a huge announcement. "As leader of our team on this mission I hereby decree we observe not one, but two minutes silence. Rhonda was wholeheartedly devoted to helping us all acheive our mutual revenge. Her loss is very tragic. She is worth two minutes easy in her honour."

They all stood or sat around in various places. Birdy sat on a big couch with Droido on her left and Frosty on her right. Birdy draped her arms around each of their waists and drew them close to her. She bowed her head and began to weep remembering how very easily they could have met the same fate as Rhonda. The thought of losing her best friends was too much for her to bear and she cried as quietly as possible during the two minutes. Frosty and Droido placed their arms around her shoulders offering silent comfort to her. Rubeus, Hypnotica and Thunderclap quietly frowned and glared at them. They each had a brief recanting moment because they knew how much Birdy and her friends meant to each other, since they were all friends like they were. But very quickly something inside them seemed to push their sympathy aside and they deeply resented the way those three cuddled and Birdy sobbing like that made them sick. They knew that it was a terribly wrong attitude to have. But even though sometimes they didn't fully understand why they couldn't help being so critical.  
As for the others, the Droids known as Jellax and Avocado were standing with bowed heads along with Catzi's other two sisters in a group and Catzi herself sat down in front of a mirror and stared at her reflection dejectedly. She couldn't quite believe it was really true that Rhonda was gone forever.

As soon as the two minutes were over Rubeus made another announcement. "Rhonda must not have died in vain. We must do all we can to help our cause succeed for her memory's sake. I have an idea for our Crystal Points."  
All the ladies moved in close to hear him explain. "That Point at the Martial Arts School was looking after itself okay. I suggest we place spells upon the Cosmetic Store and the ice cream parlour businesses of the exact same kind so that the humans running them will unknowingly help provide strength to the adjacent Crystal Point locations in Crystal Tokyo. With three of the major key Crystal Points under control in the future it will advantage our allies while we come up with a new plan to capture Rini."  
They all thought this was an excellent proposal. That evening Birdy and her friends revisited Beauty 4 You Cosmetics, Catzi took the company of Rubeus' friends Thunderclap and Hypnotica to call on the ice cream parlour and the other two sisters along with Jellax and Avocado reset the magic spell over Grandfather's dojo room at the temple after making sure the coast was clear.

With these three businesses running with their enchantments upon them, things were vastly improved for the forces of the prince in Crystal Tokyo. He sent word via his two creepy advisors that he was very pleased and Rubeus promised on behalf of them all that soon Rini would be their prisoner to send back to them in chains.  
Then he sat down himself musing over a new bright idea that was coming to him.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER 5

Birdy, Frosty and Droido all entered the main area where everybody else were all tensely gathered awaiting Rubeus. Birdy's friends were in their human like appearances, wearing their very best dresses and high heels. Unlike the other Droids they liked to look like this most of the time preferring to save their alter appearance for when they needed to fight.  
As the trio walked through the doors Birdy said, "Hello girls."  
Droido and Frosty waved and smiled. "Greetings everybody."  
"Hi."

Strangely nobody acknowledged them let alone said hello back. Well, in Catzi's case it was understandable. She and Rhonda had never been as close as Birdy and her two Droids were, but still they had been friendly allies and she was sitting alone by herself in a rather dejected state.  
But the rest were kind of rude. Birdy's other two sisters were sitting in front of mirrors with their Droids, Jellax and Avocado. While the most Thunderclap and Hypnotica did was to gruffly stare at them without speaking or smiling.  
Frosty said, "Hey now. Is this any way to greet us as comrades?"  
But Thunderclap and Hypnotica turned their faces away and the others just talked to themselves about make-up. One of Birdy's sisters asked the other one, "Do you think this black lipstick suits my corpse like pallor?"  
Avocado, a dark skinned Droid with pointed ears and green, spiky hair, said, "I think it's splendid Prizma."  
The other sister added, "Yes. It does set your face off perfectly."  
Jellax sitting next to her concurred in full agreement. She was the most unusual of all the women in that her body seemed to be made 100% of a deep, red substance resembling jelly.

Prizma was all chuffed and puffed up by their compliments but she sneered as she said, "Why thank you. But Catzi's outfit by contrast is so cheap and tacky it ought to be used to scrub the floor with."  
Catzi did not appreciate this insult one little bit. Jumping to her feet and shaking her fist she cried, "Watch it Prizma. You won't just be corpse like. I'll make you into a corpse myself."  
Prizma and the others began to jeer at her defiantly and all Hypnotica and Thunderclap did was to watch with amused expressions.

But Birdy, Droido and Frosty were appalled and began to raise their voices in combination literally begging them to cut this out.  
When everybody turned their attention toward the trio they spoke one after the other.  
"Why must there be persistent fighting and bickering?"  
"Our clan is supposed to be basically just like a family. In the past that's the way we've always been."  
Birdy's friends had spoken first and she finished. "That's right. Why is it that only Frosty, Droido and myself are trying to maintain our old unity? The rest of you are constantly either being negative in behaviour towards us or among yourselves."  
Nobody answered because they knew this was true. But they couldn't seem to help themselves and they wished they knew why. Whatever it was that was stirring them up against each other for some reason Birdy, Droido and Frosty seemed immune.

At that moment however any further quarreling that might have ensued was cut short by Rubeus' arrival. He called them all to order and he spoke with his commanding authority.  
"This is no time for fighting. I have a new plan to force Rini out of her hiding place."  
Everybody was all ears and eager to hear what it was. Rubeus elaborated proudly. "I remember back in Crystal Tokyo the Wiseman and the Grim Man once told me that the queen and her young daughter both shared one weakness in common. Their greatest fear was thunder."

As soon as he said this Thunderclap, with her customary drum always attached in front of her, spoke up admiringly. "So in other words, drum up enough thunder and lightning and we may well just scare the little brat out of her hidey hole." She placed special emphasis on the way she spoke the word drum. She could tell this was going to be her mission.  
Rubeus grinned at her. "Precisely Thunderclap. This is your forte. I'm going on this mission with you myself because you're one of my best friends. When your thunderstorm makes our target run, I'll be there to grab her and we'll return together in triumph. Hypnotica. I'm placing you in charge of headquarters while Thunderclap and I are hunting."  
Hypnotica was more than happy to do this. She loved being in positions of authority. "You can depend on me Rubeus. I wish you and Thunderclap success."

Everybody expressed the same desires and Thunderclap walked through their midst accompanied by loud cheers and applause. Side by side with Rubeus she turned to face them all raising her drumsticks high ih the air. The "drumsticks" were in actuality electrical conductors, which were connected to her back by thin wires. She also had a blue jewel of the kind all the other Droids were sealed with imbedded in one shoulder just above her jet-black tank top.  
"We will succeed for our prince," she declared.  
"For our prince." The others all raised their right fists in the air in salute. Then Thunderclap and Rubeus dematerialized.

The pair of them reappeared side by side high above the center of the city. They were floating up above as high as the highest plane could fly. Then Rubeus moved off to the left saying, "Okay Thunderclap. Roaring thunder, flashing lightning and heavy rain that will potentially pour down non-stop for days and nights. Strut your stuff."  
Thunderclap produced a pair of ear plugs out of her pocket and carefully inserted them to protect her eardrums. Then she began to pound her drum with her special unique drumsticks. "Here it comes Rubeus."  
The electric conductors charged up as she struck her drum and dark clouds began to form above her. Lightning was building up inside them and they spread out over the entire span of the city.  
She also used a portable, hand held hair dryer to create a huge gust of wind to go with the thunderstorm.  
Rubeus laughed and complimented her. "Good work my friend. Now let's keep watching out for signs of Rini running around in terrified panic."

At that moment school had just finished and Serena and her friends were on their way home. Serena and Amy were walking with Molly and Melvin when the storm hit.  
"Oh no! Where'd the sun go? I hate storms and I hate getting caught in them!" Serena wailed.  
"Oh dear! I hate getting soaked," groaned Molly.  
"The weather report said nothing about this," added Amy.  
Melvin pulled off his coat and tried to shield Molly. "Here Molly."  
"Melvin. You'll be wet," Molly gasped.  
"It's okay Molly. I'll walk you to your home as quickly as possible," he replied.

Molly was always touched by his loving chivalry. "When we get there you must come inside and get dry," she told him. "I'll call your parents and explain everything."  
This touched Melvin's heart in turn and he blushed and said, "Th-thank you Molly."  
But the next thing that suddenly happened was a huge burst of thunder boomed out overhead. It was so loud they all received a scare but Serena literally screamed and went running off like a gazelle leaving the other three behind.  
Molly and Melvin stared open mouthed and Amy sighed.  
"I swear she doesn't just hate storms," commented Melvin. "She seems to be absolutely terrified of them."  
"Yes, I must agree," said Molly and Amy concurred.  
"I'm afraid it is true. Serena is scared half to death of thunder and lightning. It gives her the heebie-jeebies."

As soon as Serena arrived home, she took off her wet shoes in disgust and called out, "Hey Mother! Can you come here please?"  
But Luna appeared and walked up to her saying, "She's not home."  
"What? Where is she?"  
"Don't you remember what she told you this morning Serena?"  
"I can't remember much of what she said to be honest." Serena's face turned bright red. "I was more concerned about trying to grab some breakfast and run to school trying to beat the bell."  
"As usual," Luna sighed exasperatedly. "Well, she was trying to let you know that she was going to the big sale on at the mall and she'll probably be a little late home for dinner."  
As Serena was taking this revelation in Luna suddenly changed her tone. "Now you need to hurry!"  
"What for Luna?"  
"Rini hasn't come back yet from Primary School. You must go and look for her."  
Just then a crash of thunder sounded and lightning lit up the sky and Serena cringed. "You expect me to go out in that!"  
Then the door opened and Sammy came tumbling in coughing and sneezing. "Out of my way Serena!" he cried.  
"Sammy! Will you please go out and look for Rini?" pleaded Serena.  
Sammy stared at her with red eyes and blew his nose. "Serena. There's no way I'm going back out in that rain. It's aggravated my cold enough already. I need to quickly take a hot shower and dress dry and warm. Mum's out and Dad's still at work. If Rini is lost in the storm it's your responsibility to go and find her. Excuse me."  
With that he pushed past her as she gibbered and tried to speak. When he was out of hearing Luna said firmly, "He's right you know. Now get out there now."  
Serena grabbed her raincoat reluctantly and ran off into the rain muttering, "I hate thunderstorms. I really do."

When Serena arrived at the Primary School, cringing every time thunder crashed, she found that Rini was nowhere to be seen. She made a quick cursory search of the school grounds, but the place was well and truly deserted. She called out Rini's name everywhere and received no reply.  
So she thought, "Maybe Rini has gone home on her own."  
So she went to a payphone and dialled her home number. It rang several times, but finally Serena heard her brother's voice speak into the receiver with a sneeze. "Ah-choo! Hello."  
"Sammy. It's Serena."  
Sammy was beset by an attack of sneezing. After four sneezes he managed to control himself enough to blow his nose and say, "Serena. Have you found Rini?"  
"No Sammy. I couldn't find her at her school, so I was wondering if she had perchance arrived home."  
"Oh dear. No, she's not here. I hope she's all right."  
"Well I'll keep searching Sammy. You let Dad or Mum know what's going on. Whichever one gets home first."  
Sammy coughed again. "Sure I will. Good luck Serena."  
"Thanks Sammy. And please look after yourself."  
"I will. Bye Serena."  
"Bye Sammy."  
With that he hung up and Serena stared at the receiver in her hand for a few moments thinking about Rini. Where could she be?

As she hung up the receiver and ran out of the booth down the street worried about Rini and also scared of the thunder she wasn't watching where she was going. She ran into somebody on the corner, holding an umbrella.  
"Oof. Hey watch it!" he exclaimed.  
"Oh, I'm sorry," Serena started to apologize when she looked up into his face and saw who it was. "Oh! Darien."  
"Serena," Darien said looking at her face. "What are you doing out here in the rain?"  
"Oh Darien. I'm trying to find Rini. She's missing!"  
"What?" Darien was horrified. But just then there was another clap of thunder and Serena automatically threw her arms around him in fright. She buried her face inside his chest and wailed. "Ooooh! I'm so scared of thunder."  
Darien gently pushed her away. "Serena. We just can't do this. I can't be with you anymore. What if your father catches us together again?"  
"Darien. I-I," Serena was struggling to find words to say but Darien spoke abruptly.  
"Anyway Serena. The important thing right now is to find Rini."  
"You, you mean you'll help me search for her Darien?"  
"Of course, you Meatball-Head." Darien was almost exasperated. "She's just a little kid and she's lost in this storm. She must be absolutely terrified out of her wits! What kind of a monster would I be if I didn't try to find her and comfort her? Come on!"

So saying Darien turned and ran off calling out Rini's name, his umbrella jerking spasmodically above his head as he ran.  
Serena gulped and ran after him, her galoshes splashing in the puddles. She thought, "Darien is so wonderfully caring and he used to be mine. If only I could persuade him that things are all right with my Dad now." Then she also started calling out for Rini.

As Darien and Serena ran across the road crossway, they were being observed by Lita and Amy from the window of a high rise restaurant. Sitting at their table, sipping their milkshakes through their straws, Lita had pointed the pair out to Amy, who had been studying her school textbooks at the time. "Look at those two down there Amy. Do you suppose they may have reconciled with each other?"  
"I don't know Lita," said Amy. "It could be so. But still they're crazy to be running around in the storm."  
Before Lita could make any sort of comment, their attention was diverted to a familiar voice from the doorway. "Oh, look Mina. Amy and Lita are here."

It was Raye. She had just entered with Mina behind her. As they joined the others at the table and began to talk, they realized all four of them had had the same idea of sheltering from the storm at this very place on their way home from their various schools. Furthermore they had all called their families to explain where they were going to be using the very same public pay-phone downstairs. They all shared a good chuckle at such an uncanny coincidence.

Meanwhile as Serena and Darien were desperately searching, Rini herself came creeping silently along in the direction from which they had come. She was very frightened and had been sheltering from the storm in a number of different places for a variety of time lengths and right now she had slipped inside the building underneath the restaurant floor which the other girls were in. Carefully using her magic powers to appear invisible to all the people present, she sat down with her back up against a wall and holding her ball up to her mouth she used it like a radio communicator to speak to her dear friend, the woman guarding the Gate of Time.  
"Please," she whimpered and pleaded. "Please. I'm terrified of this awful storm." She took hold of the key on the chain she wore round her neck. "Couldn't I just use this key to return to your side until all this thunder and lightning is past?"  
The woman's voice spoke with firmness but also gentle sorrow. "Rini I'm sorry. But that key has been designed by me to only work for your return as soon as you have obtained the Silver Imperium Crystal."  
"But I'd go straight back and resume searching afterwards. Please! I'm terrified of loud thunder!"  
"Dear Small Lady." There was heartfelt sympathy in her voice. "Rini. You need to be brave and overcome your fears for the sake of your parents and your world. I wish I could comfort you, but you must be strong."  
"NO! NO! I'm coming to you whether you like it or not!"  
"Small Lady. If you try to use the key without the crystal, I warn you. Anything could happen."  
As more vehemently massive crashes sounded accompanied by scary lightning Rini could stand it no longer.  
"I DON'T CARE!" She threw the ball aside and grabbed the key crying in abject horror. "RETURN ME TO THE FUTURE RIGHT NOW!"  
As her friend had warned her, it didn't work and something else did happen.

She and all the people suddenly rose up into the air to their mutual shock. They all gasped and gave confused, shocked exclamations to find themselves floating. In fact the same thing was happening throughout the whole building. On the above floors Lita, Amy, Raye, Mina and the people who were seated at the other tables all found themselves acting like helium balloons. Amy said, "Don't panic everyone. We're only hovering in mid-air as if we've lost our connection to our planet's gravitational pull. I don't know what's happened but nothing outside is being affected." She saw through the windows that cars were driving as normal along the roads. The people were all in a state of shock, but what Amy said was true. They were all unharmed, though floating head over heels helpless to get back on the floor.

Meanwhile amidst all the panicked folk downstairs, Rini herself yelled, "What's going on?"  
The woman's voice sighed from the ball as Rini reached out and grasped hold of it. "I tried to tell you Small Lady. I had no idea what might happen if you tried to come back at this moment. It could have been anything."  
Rini herself cut off the connection through her ball without even replying back and began to wail just like she did back when Serena had furiously threatened her thinking she'd poisoned the other four girls. The same golden crescent moon symbol glowed like golden yellow and the same bright light that had illuminated the Cherry Hill Temple area now lit up the restaurant building.

Rubeus and Thunderclap had been searching the city for signs of Rini. They had split up, mostly in order so that Rubeus would not get his eardrums burst by all the booming noise of the storm his friend was creating. Thunderclap herself, of course, still had her earplugs inserted to protect her own ears and she was constantly beating her big drum while she searched to maintain the storm.  
Rubeus saw the golden light shooting up into the sky and he pointed to it laughing triumphantly. "Excellent. I was hoping she'd make it easy for us in her panic."  
He caught sight of something shooting across the sky towards the designated location and knew it was his buddy. "Go get her Thunderclap. I won't be far behind you."  
With that he zoomed off himself to meet up with her and their target.

But they weren't the only ones. Serena turned around and called out to Darien. "I recognize that energy. It's Rini's! She's back over there from where we came!"  
As she turned around and ran off Darien himself turned with a gasp.

However the first one to reach her was Thunderclap. Rini first noticed her a split second before she smashed through the glass door making everybody cry out in fright.  
But ignoring them all Thunderclap rapped her drum sending electrical energy shooting at Rini. With her ball tucked under one arm, she screamed and kicking her legs and swinging her free arm she "swam" away as fast as she could and up the stairs to the main dining floor before she was hit. Thunderclap pursued her relentlessly keeping up her attack.

Serena arrived next and noticing the strange thing that was happening to the people she transformed before entering. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Upon entry Sailor Moon discovered that she too succumbed to the anti-gravity effects. "Whoops! Everybody, what's going on?"  
"Sailor Moon!" cried one man. "A hideous creature banging a big drum chased some poor little girl through the air and up to the next level."  
Sailor Moon followed his pointing finger and with a shudder guessed who the poor little girl was. "You must go and save her!" shouted somebody else.  
"Yes I will!" Sailor Moon threw herself in the direction she needed to take amidst cheers of encouragement.

Upstairs Raye had recognized Rini as she appeared crying for help and there were many gasps as Thunderclap appeared in pursuit.  
Pulling her hairdryer out she shouted. "Don't worry folks. I don't want to hurt any of you. I'm only trying to catch that kid."  
She was preparing to shoot a blast of wind at Rini, but Raye and the others, since they couldn't transform in public view, all bravely lunged through the air to intercept the blast. The four of them were blown into the wall and floated slowly up again moaning and groaning with pain.  
"Now that was such a ridiculously stupid thing to do," said Thunderclap in bewilderment. But just as she turned her attention to Rini once again Sailor Moon came inside flailing her arms and legs awkwardly.

"Hey!" She cried out over Thunderclap's drum beats to get her attention. "So you're the creep who's behind this latest attack. Well, I'm Sailor Moon and on behalf of the Moon I'll punish you!"  
Thunderclap shot at her with her hairdryer. As the blast threw Sailor Moon against the opposite wall Thunderclap shouted, "I'll punish you for the death of our comrade Rhonda!"  
Sailor Moon's friends and all the other people were very concerned for her and called out things like, "Sailor Moon! Are you all right?"  
Rini shouted, "Sailor Moon! Please fight back!"  
But Thunderclap was already pounding her drum and before Sailor Moon could recover, she had blasted her with electricity. "Yeeoooow! This hurts! I can't stand it!"

At this moment Rubeus came floating up the stairs as fast as he could propel himself and cried out with joy when he saw what was happening.  
"Why Thunderclap. You've got Sailor Moon at your mercy. Show her you don't have any and finish her off with your biggest charge of all."  
Thunderclap touched the tips of her conductors together and they buzzed with power. "I'm on it Rubeus." She began to pound the drum building up her reserves to kill Sailor Moon, who was now rather terrified and trembling.  
Her friends knew she needed help but what could they do? The Sailor Scouts may have stood a chance fighting together but they couldn't expose their secret identities to so many members of the public.  
Sailor Moon was beginning to gibber unintelligibly in her fear, Rubeus was eager to see her destroyed and Thunderclap was almost ready to strike. Just one more pounding on her drum.

Suddenly the drum was pierced by a flying rose that went stright through the center. Thunderclap's electrical energy was directed straight at her, though she was able to survive because of the rubber insulation that was built into the lining of her clothes just in case of accidents. "Aaaarggh! Rubeus! What's happening?" She screamed.  
Rubeus gasped in shock. "Thunderclap!"

All eyes then noticed a masked, caped figure carefully standing in an open window. "Tuxedo Mask! You're here!" Sailor Moon cried.  
Rubeus' mouth was wide open while Tuxedo Mask addressed Thunderclap, who was recovering from the blast and down on one knee slowly rising. "You have used your drum to terrorize people and that will not be tolerated!" He held four more roses in his hand. "I'm going to make you dance to my beat lady instead of you beating that drum to stir up trouble!"

With that he threw the roses, one after the other and Thunderclap had to desperately jump backwards struggling to keep her balance against the lack of gravitational pull and avoid getting her feet potentially skewered as the stems all stuck firmly into the floor. "Argh! Ack! Uh! Ooh!"  
Rubeus was getting upset. "Stop it!" He shouted at Tuxedo Mask. "Leave my buddy alone!"  
But he and his buddy had far more serious things to worry about next as Tuxedo Mask urged Sailor Moon to take over and she produced her scepter.  
Thunderclap was terrified knowing what Sailor Moon had done to Rhonda with that weapon and Rubeus knew he needed to act fast. Thunderclap had been backed up by the roses next to one of the windows and while Sailor Moon was preparing her attack, Rubeus summoned up all his strength and torpedoed himself straight towards Thunderclap. Before Sailor Moon could complete her move he had plowed into Thunderclap and the momentum pushed her through the window smashing the glass. Then she and Rubeus flew away from the building and before they could crash into another one nearby Rubeus twisted his body upwards steering himself up, up and away, his arms fully around Thunderclap. They soared up way past the top of the neighbouring building far above leaving Sailor Moon and the others long behind.

Coming to a stop, they hovered in mid-air. Thunderclap was shaking and moaning and Rubeus pulled out one of her ear plugs and spoke comfortingly. "It's all right. I've saved you."  
One of his arms was sticking through the hole in her drum and she instinctively stuck her arm through the opposite hole so she could embrace and cuddle with Rubeus. For about fifteen seconds they held each other and laughed a little affectionately. But then something clicked inside them and they pulled away from each other, blushing embarrassedly.  
"Well. Um. Thank you dear Rubeus. I'd have done the same for you. But let's not get carried away and behave stupidly like that Birdy, Droido and Frosty."  
"You're right Thunderclap. Thank goodness none of the others saw us just now. Especially not Hypnotica. Let's return to base."  
"We could have captured the brat and destroyed Sailor Moon though if that Tuxedo Mask hadn't showed up," snarled Thunderclap.  
"Yes. We need to come up with a better plan. And we must be more careful. I almost lost you Thunderclap. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon are dangerous ruthless murderers who need to be brought to justice."  
After Rubeus said this the two of them dematerialized.

Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask had leaped inside to try to help only to find he was caught up in the levitation himself. Rini realized that this was her fault, so she silently held the key chain around her neck, concentrated as best as she could and managed to gently lower herself back to the ground, returning the gravitational pull to normal. Unfortunately Tuxedo Mask, Sailor Moon, Amy, Lita, Raye, Mina and everybody else quickly collapsed to the ground in a heap. Fortunately although there were a few injuries sustained, no bones were actually broken as they really hadn't been up too very high and while they all climbed to their feet Rini, ashamed of the trouble she'd caused, picked up her ball and ran outside.  
People made a big fuss about Sailor Moon thanking her and asking her what had happened. To this she could only answer, "I honestly have no idea why this happened everyone. But rest assured. I and the other Sailor Scouts will be investigating and doing our best to discover what the answer is and if it should occur again, we'll be on hand to help."  
Her four friends silently agreed. The population for the most part had no knowledge of the weird things that were happening and until they had a better understanding they wanted to keep things as secret as they possibly could to avoid panic and undue anxiety.

As for Tuxedo Mask, he had picked himself up as fast as possible, ignoring his aches, and leaped through the window and outside. As usual he preferred to keep a low profile among the community and he was intending to go home to his apartment and change to Darien. But as soon as his feet alighted on the pavement, he heard a familiar voice. "Tuxedo Mask! Don't go Tuxedo Mask!"  
Recognizing Rini's voice he turned to behold her running to him with her ball in hand and he instinctively dropped to one knee and opened his arms wide. He didn't fully know why but he wanted to take this child into his warm embrace within his tuxedo's folds and he smiled behind his mask as Rini threw herself inside of his folding arms.  
She looked up into his face and cried, "Oh Tuxedo Mask! I love you! Can I stay with you for just a little while please?"  
He rose to his feet lifting her, gazed into her eyes and said, "Yeah sure. Let's go walk by ourselves. Okay?"

So they walked hand in hand down the street and Rini laughed. "Oh Tuxedo Mask. Look at the beautiful rainbow."  
It was true. Even after Thunderclap's artificially created storm, a rainbow still naturally appeared when it was over. Tuxedo Mask and Rini looked at it with joy. The colours were stunning as rainbows usually are.

Later Tuxedo Mask walked Rini home to her front door and with a reluctant goodbye disappeared with an almighty leaping and bounding. Rini hated to see him go but she knew her "family" must be worried about her.

And so they were. Even Serena. She had no idea where Rini could have disappeared to after the incident at the restaurant and as soon as she could leave had removed her Sailor Moon identity, searched for a little bit more and dejectedly gone home ten minutes before Tuxedo Mask returned her.  
When Rini knocked on the door she was crying because she missed Tuxedo Mask, but she used the tears to her advantage for when Mum saw her crying she was distressed and picked her up consolingly. "Oh Rini. Dear Rini. Where have you been? Are you all right?"

When she carried Rini in to Dad, Sammy and Serena, she had her story ready while she sobbed. "I was so terrified of that dreadful storm that I raced to find shelter and became lost. I just managed to find my way back home now. I was so scared and missed you all so much."  
Dad said, "Thank goodness. You must have been terrified out of your wits."  
Sammy sneezed, blew his nose and said, "I'm delighted you're back safe and sound Rini."  
"So am I," admitted Serena. It was true. She didn't like to admit it much to herself, but she was starting to become fond of Rini. There was something about her she couldn't explain.  
So Mum prepared something nice and hot for Rini to eat while she had a bath and then tucked her snugly into her bed. Rini closed her eyes and promised herself and her mother that she would increase her efforts to find that important crystal.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

The Four Sisters were standing around in a circle, their backs to each other looking inside big mirrors, vainly examining their faces. Birdy's good friends, Frosty and Droido were loyally stationed at each of her shoulders, Catzi of course was on her own and the other two sisters had their personal Droid Warrior by her side respectively.  
One of them, the one with greenish hair, said grumpily to her Droid Avocado, "I hate being stuck here in the past. It's so primitive. Why can't Rubeus take us home to the future?"  
The other sister, who had the strange and mysterious Droid Jellax next to her said scathingly, "Knock it off Prizma. You know we have very important work to do. Besides, why do you want to go back to the future in such a hurry. You no longer have anybody's warm arms to go back to, do you?"  
Upon her saying this, the woman who looked like she was made of red jelly began to laugh tauntingly, along with her mistress, and Prizma and Avocado both turned with livid expressions.

Prizma pointed her finger at them and said, "Don't you rub me up the wrong way Avery and Jellax. My Droid Avocado will stick up for me."  
Avocado produced what looked like a pineapple and said, "You want me to blast you into blobs of red goop with my pineapple grenades Jellax?"  
Jellax raised her fists. "You just try it Avocado. I'll trap you like a fly in a spider's web with my sticky jell body."  
Birdy and her friends turned around and gestured frantically waving their arms.  
"For goodness sake, don't start fighting! You'll destroy the spacecraft and kill us all!"  
"Yeah, that's right!"  
Jellax and Avocado realized this was correct but they still frowned heavily at each other as they sat down next to their mistresses.

Then Rubeus entered with Hypnotica and Thunderclap behind him. Thunderclap had one of her spare drums regally placed upon her instead of the one that Tuxedo Mask had destroyed.  
Rubeus addressed the crowd unaware of what had just transpired. "Okay you lot. My friends and I have been communicating privately with the Wiseman."  
"What did he have to say?" asked Prizma.  
"He says that things are going very well since we firmly established our control over the first three major Crystal Points. But he has shown us a fourth one. It's a store that sells charms and crystal jewelery and other things that are said to bring you good luck. It seems to be very popular with the school students in particular."  
"Good luck charms? What superstitious nonsense!" scoffed Avery.  
"Maybe it is," said Rubeus. "But all the same it's important that we capture this Crystal Point to increase our control over Crystal Tokyo in the future."

As Rubeus fell silent, his two friends continued where he left off giving out their mutual orders. "We three have thoroughly discussed our move and it seems to us that the last two sisters, who haven't gone on any mission yet, should take this job together," said Hypnotica.  
"Therefore Avery and Prizma shall take over that charm store by our mutual command," finished Thunderclap.  
Avery and Prizma both almost had a fit. For sisters, they really didn't get along very well, although there was a time Birdy, Droido and Frosty could remember when they used to. In fact they all did, including Rubeus and his two friends. For a moment they were on the verge of protesting this dreadful appointing, but something seemed to stop them, though neither of them was sure what it was.  
"Very well."  
"We'll work together."  
They both spoke with a sigh and Rubeus spoke again, "Your two Droids will accompany you of course. Avocado, you are to disguise yourself as a human and work with the two sisters as part of the shop staff."  
"Yes Rubeus," said Avocado.  
"What about me?" said Jellax and it was Thunderclap who answered.  
"Well, since you cannot actually change your gelatinous form to make a perfect human disguise you shall hide yourself in the background and be on hand to surprise and trap Rini and/or the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask if any of them appear. Your sticky body will hold them immobile and helpless so they can be easily destroyed."  
Rubeus concluded. "So are you all ready to set out?"  
The four of them really did forget about their petty rivalries in the thrill of the thought of achieving the desired goals of their clan. At least for the moment at hand and they all vowed to make their utmost best efforts to succeed.

In the city Serena was having an afternoon shopping spree after school with two of her friends, Mina and Lita. Luna had also decided to join them and having met at the designated rendezvous point on a public park bench, she had been draped over Serena's shoulder so she could ride while the three of them walked around together.  
Suddenly something caught Serena's eye and she pointed exclaiming, "What's that? I've never seen it before!"  
The sign on the shop said "Fancy Omazinai House" and it had a picture of a smiling witch on her broomstick next to the title.  
Lita answered. "That's a new store that opened up three days ago. They sell charms that are said to bring you good luck with boyfriends."  
Mina said, "Hoo boy. Raye and her Grandfather are going to have some very stiff competition now."  
Serena's thoughts turned towards Darien. Maybe she could buy something that would help her successfully convince Darien to come back to her. It was worth a try. With Luna still perched in place she called out from the doorway. "Come on you two! Let's check it out!"  
Mina and Lita looked at each other smiling. "I love charms," said Mina.  
"So do I!" Lita laughed and so did Mina as they followed Serena.

Meanwhile Rini was hiding in the bushes of the park communicating with her mysterious friend through her blue ball. Speaking softly she held it up to her mouth.  
"Can you please tell me if the girl Serena, who you sent me to stay with, is doing anything I should keep an eye on?"  
The woman's voice replied, "I can see in a vision that she is visiting the Charms Shop known as "Fancy Omazinai House" in Nightingale Street."  
"A Charms Shop?" said Rini. "I think I'd better go and check this out for certain. Perhaps she may be going to hide the Silver Crystal somewhere among the merchandise and then ask if they will hold it for her to slowly pay off. I don't know if Serena would be prepared to give up money to "buy" the crystal in order to keep it out of my clutches. But I'm going to investigate any angle to keep one step ahead of her."  
"That's the spirit Small Lady," said her friend. "Good luck."

Just then a fine spray of water began to hit Rini and with a loud cry she sprang out of the bushes clutching her ball and running away. This startled Mr. Baxter, the park gardener, who had just set up the portable sprinkler system to give the grass, trees and shrubbery a drink of water. "Oh dear. I'm terribly sorry. I didn't know you were playing hidey little girl." He called out to her, but she didn't stop. She didn't care. She was on her way to catch Serena at the Charms Shop.

At that moment inside the Charms Shop, Prizma, Avery and Avocado were dressed in similar outfits. Short purple skirts, long-legged stockings and greyish-white shawls were the standard pieces of the staff uniforms and they had "borrowed" three of them that were a perfect fit from the actual employees, who were all sitting around the staff room table mesmerized. The trio were in position around the counter and they had been selling charms all day to girls, and occasionally some boys, who placed their charms around their necks, wishing out loud for their dream lovers to ask them out on various kinds of dates. Two girls were just doing so when Serena and her friends entered the shop and they passed them on their way out laughing with dreamy looks in their eyes. The three women smiled as they did at all their customers. None of them really believed in the power of these trinkets. It all seemed rather superstitious to them, but if their customers wanted to believe they had genuine power to bring them the joys of love? Well, there was no harm in that and at the same time with every charm they did sell, the next Crystal Point in the future was being brought inevitably under their control. So they had every reason to be happy.

Turning their attention to Serena, Lita and Mina they smiled brightly. "Can we help you girls?" asked Avery.  
"We want to just browse around," said Lita, "but perhaps at least one of us will want to buy something." She and Mina both winked at Serena.  
"Then let us know if we can be of any assistance," said Avocado.  
"Thank you," said Mina.

Just then Serena did see something that caught her eye. With Luna still draped over her shoulder she went over to the shelf and carefully picked up a three litre glass bottle full of a liquid that was advertised as a good luck potion. Luna whispered in her ear. "Serena. You don't believe in that potion?Surely not. I think it's a big hoax."  
"Can it Luna," Serena whispered back and she carried the bottle to the counter where she gave Avocado the money and Avocado gave her her change.  
"There you are," she smiled. But then Serena did something that made Avocado, Avery and Prizma all gasp. Lita and Mina didn't see it as they were browsing other areas of the shop, but Luna silently groaned to herself.

Serena opened the bottle and started to drink it all guzzling it down.  
Avery said, "Hey! Don't make yourself sick!"  
Avocado said, "That potion is meant to be taken in small doses."  
Prizma's mouth hung open with no sound coming out. She was speechless with disbelief.  
Lita and Mina came up and were aghast as Serena was downing the last drop.  
"Serena! What is that stuff?"  
Serena lowered the empty bottle and burped. "A good luck potion."  
Mina said uneasily, "Ah well. If that stuff works you should be in for a surge of super good luck."  
The looks on Avocado, Avery and Prizma's faces spoke of what their thoughts were. None of them could believe what they'd witnessed.

Meanwhile outside, Rini had arrived running as fast as she could with her ball tucked under her arm. She peeked in through the window and couldn't see anybody. "There's nobody here," she thought. "Perhaps they're around the back behind those big curtains?"  
Just then Darien came walking around the corner towards her. "Why, hello there little Rini." He greeted her warmly.  
"Darien!" She exclaimed happily.  
"What are you up to?" He asked with a cheerful smile.  
"I was just going to have a browse here in this store. Would you like to give me some company?"  
Darien chuckled. "Sure. I have nothing else to do today."

So saying Darien entered the store with Rini and followed her behind the curtain. But he did not expect nor was he prepared to come face to face with Serena. He gasped out her name as soon as he saw her at the counter. Serena turned and her eyes lit up and her mouth expanded with joy. Could the good luck potion have really worked?  
"Darien. Do you still love me? I know you do!"  
Darien hesitated for a split second. But then he turned to Rini and said, "I'm sorry Rini. It's very urgent that I leave immediately. We'll spend time together on a better occasion."  
And with that he exited back out through the curtains even as Serena begged him to wait. But outside the shop he sighed regretfully. "Sorry Serena. I do still love you. But we can no longer be together." Then he walked away as fast as he could. He seemed to be so intent on severing connection with Serena that his usual sixth sense appeared to have been dulled, so that he could not tell that in just a short moment Serena and her friends could use the services of Tuxedo Mask.

Serena was so upset and disappointed that she hadn't even so much as registered Rini's presence. But Avery, Avocado and Prizma had. Their number one target was in their sight. Prizma knew what to do. "Say there little girl," she said. "I have the perfect charm for you."  
Rini was all ears upon hearing this. "A charm for me? What is it?"  
Could it be connected in any way to the Silver Imperium Crystal she sought?  
She began to walk towards the counter with her free hand outstretched, bubbling inside with eager curiosity. Serena stood behind her and Lita and Mina off towards the side. Prizma held out a pink jewel in the palm of her hand and said, "Here it is."  
With that she threw it up into the air above Rini's head, where it exploded creating a thick heavy smoke screen. "Come on girls. Let's grab the brat but try not to hurt the innocent customers."  
"Aye-aye Prizma."  
"We've caught her this time for sure."

But Mina and Lita had reacted instinctively and as soon as Prizma had thrown the jewel, they had already begun to race towards Rini and as the smoke screen obscured all vision they reached her and grabbing her cried out, "Don't worry Rini. It's we who have you not them."  
"Serena! Take Rini out of here where she'll be safe."  
Acting on their intuition as Sailor Scouts, the pair of them quickly made their way blindly towards where Serena stood close by the curtain. It was fortunate for Rini that Lita and Mina were nothing like Serena, whose first natural reaction had been to freeze up in panicked fear, shaking with her knees knocking.  
"Serena! Snap out of it now and get Rini out of here while we take care of these creeps!" shouted Lita.  
"Hey! What's going on?" shouted Avery perplexed.  
"I don't know girls," said Prizma. "But we must do something. Jellax! Come and help us!"  
Serena came to her senses and took Rini under her arm as she heard the enemy yelling out thus. Under Luna's directions quietly given inside her ear, she reached out for the curtain, found it and ducked through with Rini. Rini didn't argue. She was scared of the possibility of being captured and was eager to get away.

Back inside the smoke filled room, Lita and Mina prepared themselves for battle before the cover dissipated.  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"VENUS POWER!"  
"What? Who's shouting that? Prizma! Get rid of the smoke screen!" yelled Avery and gesturing mystically Prizma did dispell the cloud but the two Sailor Scouts stood before them fully transformed.  
They in turn could see that the three women had shed off their disguises and now stood before them in their regular outfits. Avery wore a red miniskirt with a yellow top while her sister Prizma was dressed in long blackish-green leggings and an olive green top. Avocado was weird with her yellow bikini top and skirt made from palm tree leaves. Her spiky, green hair with a pink hibiscus flower placed inside made her look like she belonged on the beach at Hawaii. But the weirdest sight of all was Jellax. She had apparently oozed her red, gelatinous body through the roof and was hanging upside down as far as her waist. She was entirely red except for her green eyes and a yellow bow tie, in the middle of which was set one of those gems with the Dark Moon symbol.

The Scouts had no opportunity to introduce themselves as Prizma growled out, "Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus."  
"What? So you know who we are?" cried Sailor Jupiter.  
Avery produced a whip seemingly from nowhere. "Of course we know you wicked murderers. We shall kill you. But only after we force you to tell us where you have hidden Rini."  
She cracked the whip at them making them jump in different directions. As Sailor Jupiter landed on her feet, before she could turn around to fight, some of Jellax's sticky red gel came oozing up from the floor catching her feet and then sliding up her body and attaching to the ceiling, pinning her arms straight up above her head.  
As for Sailor Venus, she valiently attempted to fight against Avery and kicked out at her. But Avery dodged and flicking her whip caught her around the neck. Pulling tautly she tightened the whip into a stranglehold and Sailor Venus began to choke.  
"Well done Jellax," said Prizma as she and Avocado walked around to stare Sailor Jupiter in the face. "Hey guess what? Avery is strangling your comrade. Will you tell us where Rini is for her sake?"  
"You only plan to kill us anyway," retorted Sailor Jupiter defiantly as she struggled to free herself.  
"Yes, but we don't have to do so immediately," answered Prizma. "Avery is an expert whip-cracker and handler who knows how to use her whip to kill as slowly as possible while maintaining incapacitation. So will you spare her a slow, agonizing death? And if you still won't talk after we're through with her we can torment you in ways that won't harm Jellax while she's using part of her body to trap you."  
Avocado leered in concurrence. "So what will it be?"  
Then all four of them, even Jellax, began to laugh together sadistically while Venus and Jupiter both vainly attempted to break out from the hold their enemies had placed upon them.

In the meantime Rini's feelings had suddenly changed to anger and indignation directed toward Serena. This was because Serena, badly wanting to be able to transform into Sailor Moon and help her friends, had suddenly spotted a storage cabinet which conveniently had the key hanging on a nail in the nearby wall. She had immediately decided that would be the best place to "store" Rini and before Rini knew it she had been shoved inside and the door slammed.

"Hey! What's the big idea?" Rini tried to twist the doorknob and push the door open, but Serena pushing against it, was able to just reach over and grab the key where it hung. As Rini struggled, Serena threw her bigger body against the door holding it closed and succeeded in inserting the key into the lock and turning it in spite of Rini's best efforts at twisting the knob. Finding it securely locked she proceeded to pound the door and yelled with muffled cries of protest. "Let me out of here! Let me out of here you meatball-headed bimbo!"

Luna, who by this time had jumped off Serena's shoulder to the floor, cried, "What are you doing Serena?"  
Serena hung the key back in place and said, "I need to help my friends Luna. It's the best solution to keep her out of the way."  
"Are you sure there's enough air in there?"  
"Yes there is Luna. Hey, I am sorry to admit that I once lost control and threatened to strangle her in unbridled fury. But I'm not trying to do anything to kill her now. I'll let her out as soon as the fight's over."  
Luna said, "Very well. But let's hurry."  
Leaving her pounding, kicking and cursing vainly, Luna ran back with Serena as she contacted Raye and Amy on her communicator. Then before she returned to the conflict behind the curtain, she transformed. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

As Sailor Moon, she burst through the curtains, pointing her finger at the scene and shouting. "Hold it right there. It is I, Sailor Moon, and on behalf of the moon, I will right wrongs and triumph over evil. And that means you."  
Avery tightened her grip on the whip making Sailor Venus gasp and snapped. "Quit talking like a hypocrite you wicked person!"  
Sailor Moon indignantly snapped back. "Again you accuse me of being the evil one. This routine is so lame."  
Prizma yelled. "Jellax! Destroy her!"  
Jellax moulded one of her arms into the blade of a sword. It did in fact look like it could actually cut and clearly she believed that it would. For she lunged her red gelatinous body towards Sailor Moon aiming to thrust at her.

But Sailor Moon was faster and grabbed her tiara, turned it into her scepter and raised it before her shouting, "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
Before the Droid could even reach her, she was struck by the beams from the scepter. Groaning and vainly struggling, Jellax melted to sludge that evaporated into nothing leaving only her yellow bow tie with the jewel inside that faded dull in colour. Sailor Jupiter was free from her sticky trap by Jellax's death, but of course, Sailor Venus was still caught by Avery's whip.  
Mutually horrified about what had happened, Prizma and Avocado screamed in rage while Avery's response was to yank on the whip and try to break Sailor Venus' neck.

However Sailor Jupiter spun around to face them and acted to save Sailor Venus. "JUPITER THUNDERBOLT ZAP!"  
Sending her attack flying with perfect aim, she severed the whip freeing Sailor Venus and as Avery was exerting all her strength in pulling she fell over backwards and collapsed.  
Sailor Venus responded to her freedom by launching an attack on Prizma and Avocado. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"  
Summoning up her own whip composed of small, orange hearts she sent it snapping out at her enemies. Prizma jumped to one side and Avocado to the other and it just missed them striking where they had been standing moments ago. Meanwhile Avery had sprung to her feet and lashed out with her whip again.

"Sailor Venus! Behind you!" cried Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus quickly turned to face Avery. The two of them struck out at each other and the tips of their whips crackled statically as they touched. It was a strong even match. But the two of them attacked again and unfortunately Avery landed a lucky blow catching Sailor Venus around one leg. She twisted her whip and threw Sailor Venus off her feet. "Ah-ha! You're mine again," she cackled as she produced a second whip, seemingly from nowhere like the first and caught her round the neck once more.  
Her friends were unable to do anything to help her because Prizma was occupying Sailor Jupiter in a heavy fight. She had some similar electrical powers of her own and as they gruelingly fought they both grunted and sweated as each tried to force the other's charge backwards to zap her opponent.

As for Sailor Moon she was dueling with Avocado. Avocado had said defiantly, "Do your worst. I will not give a cold-blooded killer like you the satisfaction of hearing me beg for my life."  
When Sailor Moon had responded, "I am not intending to kill you. I want to try to capture you alive and question you to find out who you are and what your evil game is. And why do you people all insist on putting up the pretence that I'm the evil one? My friends and I all know you must have some secret wicked agenda."  
To this Avocado replied, "You're the one who's putting up pretence. But if it's a fight you want, I'll give it to you."  
Then she seemed to get of all things, a banana out of thin air, and she opened the peel revealing a short sabre blade. She attacked Sailor Moon who used her scepter like a sword to parry. She desperately wanted Avocado for questioning if she could, but then she saw her friends plight and thought she should end this encounter to help them and question their opponents instead.  
However Avocado relentlessly kept thrusting too fast for her to have a chance to use the scepter to kill her. She had to keep parrying and trying to find an opening.  
It was looking very bad and Luna was on the verge of attacking Avery herself before she could seriously hurt Sailor Venus.

Suddenly help arrived just in time. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
Sailor Mars used her updated fire attack to sever Avery's whips in half freeing Sailor Venus. Avery fell over backwards just like before.  
Prizma's attention was diverted by this occurrence and as she turned her head and gasped for a split second her battle with Sailor Jupiter was all over. The electrical energies struck her throwing her backwards to the floor herself. She was still conscious, but dazed and groggily struggled to stand.  
As for Avocado, when she turned and gasped likewise Sailor Moon took advantage to strike her on the back of the head with her scepter knocking her out.  
"Perfect timing Sailor Mars," she complimented.  
Sailor Mars was standing next to the curtain along with Sailor Mercury, both smiling. "You're most welcome," smiled Sailor Mars.  
Prizma moaned, "We're hopelessly outnumbered."  
Avery yelled in agreement. "Everybody retreat."  
And before the Sailor Scouts or Luna could do anything, the two sisters dematerialized where they lay half-risen to their feet on the floor. They teleported themselves back to their spaceship headquarters, but what they failed to realize was that Avocado was unconscious and had not retreated along with them.

Sailor Moon was quick to take charge. "Sailor Mars! Sailor Jupiter! Will the two of you please take this unusual person to the Cherry Hill Temple and secure her before she comes to? I want her kept prisoner so we can question her later."  
"Okay," said Sailor Mars. "There's plenty of strong rope and cords in our storage basement. Grandfather and Chad hardly ever go there and I'll put a protection charm against their noticing her if perchance they should do so before we can grill her. Give me a hand Jupiter."  
Sailor Jupiter was a big help with her strength and the two of them raced away through the curtains, out of the shop and away, carrying Avocado between them.

No sooner had they gone than the manageress of the charm shop and all her staff began to appear, striding out of the staff room feeling confused. "Sailor Scouts!" they cried in wonderment. "What has been going on?"  
Sailor Moon and her friends looked at each other silently agreeing upon what to say. Sailor Moon turned to the women and said to them, "We're not altogether sure. Though for some reason neither you nor anybody else as far as we can tell have been harmed. You were put into a trance by some people who wanted to take over your shop. We've driven them away but strange thing is, they didn't seem to do anything except sell your charms themselves."  
While they widened their eyes and marvelled, Sailor Mercury added, "We would appreciate it if you'd all keep quiet about this. We are in the midst of investigating and we'd rather not have gossip unduly spreading among the community."  
Sailor Venus concluded. "It may impede our efforts to get to the bottom of it all if these weird people decide to go quiet with all the fuss."  
The boss lady said, "We hold you girls in the highest honours and we understand. We promise we will carry on like normal and say nothing." The other women concurred and made solemn vows and the Sailor Scouts thanked them profusely.

As the three of them made their departure Sailor Moon bent down and picked up the only trace that remained of Jellax. The yellow bow tie with the jewel inside it. Raye still had Rhonda's jewel. She would give this one to her too. Perhaps the sacred fire might pick up some psychic connection.  
As they exited the curtained area Luna nudged Sailor Moon's legs to get her attention. "What is it Luna?" Sailor Moon asked looking down.  
"Don't forget to let Rini out of the storage cabinet."  
"Oh yeah. Right."  
"You locked her in a cabinet?" cried Sailor Venus.  
"She must be very angry," said Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Moon thought about this and realizing that Sailor Mercury was probably right she turned to her friends and said, "I don't fancy hearing her pout and nag me over it. Can you girls help me please?"  
After explaining what she had in mind she gave the bow tie to her friends to pass on to Raye and making sure nobody else was around, transformed back into Serena.  
Rini had long given up making a racket and was brooding inside the cabinet. As soon as Serena turned the key in the lock and opened the door, she blinked in the sunlight. Then picking up her ball she stormed out and began to make a fuss. "Serena you idiot. How dare you shove me inside there?"  
"But she did it under our orders Rini." Rini gasped when she saw who had spoken.  
"SAILOR MERCURY AND SAILOR VENUS!"

The pair of them smiled and Sailor Venus said, "That's right. We told Serena to put you in there so you'd be safely out of harm's way while we dealt with the people who were trying to kidnap you."  
"She was acting for your own good, in harmony with us," said Sailor Mercury.  
As Rini took this in she gazed with adoration at the two Sailor Scouts. She loved them almost as deeply as Sailor Moon herself and Tuxedo Mask and to their surprise she hugged them both in turn to thank them and then hugged Serena. Looking up at Serena with a huge smile she said, "In this case I understand why you did it Serena. I can no longer be resentful because I realize how much you care. Just like the Sailor Scouts."  
Serena was very happy and picking up Luna said, "Thank you Rini. We'd both better be heading home. It's getting late."

They said goodbye to Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury and the two groups went their separate ways. But Serena was still feeling troubled. Why hadn't Darien come back as Tuxedo Mask to help her and her friends? Did he simply no longer care even for that?  
As for Rini she thought happily to herself. "I suppose you really are okay Serena. But this doesn't make it any the less imperative that I get the Silver Imperium Crystal off of you. For the sake of my mother I need to succeed."


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7

Things had been very stressed out and upsetting at the spaceship headquarters of Rubeus and his crew since Avery and Prizma had returned to report that Jellax was now dead and to their further dismay, Avocado had vanished. Everybody came to the assumption that the Sailor Scouts must have killed her too. Rubeus had responded thusly.  
"We've suffered a devastating double loss. We will go into mourning until after tonight and tomorrow we shall make plans to avenge our comrades."

Birdy, Frosty and Droido were cuddling each other and sobbing hysterically. This time not just Rubeus and his two best friends, Hypnotica and Thunderclap frowned heavily upon their actions, but Birdy's three sisters, Catzi, Avery and Prizma sent them looks that made them want to cry even harder. It was as if they were resentful of the fact that both of Birdy's friends had survived so far, while each of their single partners were lost.  
Birdy stammered and gulped through her tears as she said, "C-c-come on g-girls. L-let's go into p-p-private quarters by ourselves." Droido and Frosty needed no second bidding. The trio rose and walked off arms around each other's shoulders fully aware of the sour looks all the others were giving them from behind. When they shut the door they hugged each other and wept for a couple of hours standing upright. Then they all threw themselves on top of a huge bed with giant fluffy eiderdown pillows. Lying fully clothed except for their shoes which they all kicked off they cried even more. "Why are they so mean to us Birdy?" Droido sniffled.  
"We used to all get along so happily together," Frosty added. "Why are things changed so badly?"  
"I wish I knew why girls," sobbed Birdy. "You two are more like true sisters to me then my biological siblings. If I didn't have you I'd be all alone."  
Frosty took Birdy's left hand in hers and Droido took her right. "You're our sister Birdy," said Frosty.  
"Since our own families were all brutally murdered, you're the only family we have," said Droido.  
Birdy felt secure in the middle of these two adopted sisters of hers. "I'll always be here for you both, just like you are for me," she said.  
"It's you and us forever Birdy," said Frosty.  
"United as one," said Droido.  
And then the three women smiled and they laughed as they squeezed each others' hands forgetting about everything else in their joyful company.

That very evening at Serena's house Rini was feeling rather cross with her "aunt" and "uncle". She glared at them as they sheepishly sat together on the living room couch. "You promised me!" She accused them with her eyes blazing and they humbly apologized.  
"We know honey," said Mum.  
"And we're very sorry we have to break our word now," said Dad.  
"I sure can sympathize with her," said Sammy, who was sitting in a chair by himself opposite behind Rini. "I know exactly how a broken promise feels."

Mum and Dad both sighed just as Serena entered saying, "Hey Mum. What's for dinner tonight?"  
She pulled up short when she saw the expressions on everybody's faces and asked what the matter was.  
Mum said, "We have a little problem Serena. But maybe you can help us?"  
Dad went on to explain. "You see. We were going to go to a curry cooking party at Rini's school tomorrow. All the kids and their parents will be cooking different kinds of curry dishes together. But now my boss has told me we're having an important business dinner tomorrow night, so Mum and I have to go to that instead."  
"I get it," said Serena smilingly. "You want me to take your place tomorrow night at the party and help Rini with the cooking. It will be my pleasure."

Strictly speaking "Cousin" Rini had only been supposed to be staying for the holiday period's visit. But due to the mysterious influence exerted over Serena's family by Rini's strange friend who'd sent her to search for the Silver Crystal, they had all accepted the extension of her visit without question and she had enrolled in the Primary School as a new student. Serena, though she had been suspicious of her at first, was beginning to take a liking to Rini and she was very eager to do her this big favour.  
But Rini said, "If it's all the same to all of you, I'd rather go to the party alone."  
Everybody was surprised and Serena was gob-smacked. "W-w-what do you mean Rini?"  
Rini was kind of getting to like Serena but she said firmly, though gently, "No offence Serena. But even though I realize you mean well, I fear you will probably make a few little bungles and ruin things. I know you're kind of clumsy and I want my curry to be perfect."  
Serena was deeply offended. "What makes you think I'm clumsy you ungrateful child?"

With that retort she strode out of the room with her nose in the air, but in the doorway while she wasn't watching her feet she stumbled over the rug and with a cry fell flat on her face.  
"Serena!" Mum cried as she and Dad jumped out of the couch and rushed over to where she lay sprawled and groaning.  
"Are you okay Sweetie?" asked Dad.  
Rini just looked at Sammy and he nodded grimly. Rini didn't need to say anything. Her case was already rested.

The following day Rini's school had a free day so that they could all stay at home and make what preparations they required for the big curry party with their families. However all the other schools including Serena's were running as normal.  
Raye was at her own school too but she had Avocado tied firmly in a wooden chair with her hands behind her back deep down in the basement of the Cherry Hill Temple. Avocado had no idea where she was or how she got there as she had been unconscious when Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter had slipped her secretly inside and secured her. She wasn't gagged but even though she had called out several times for somebody to release her Sailor Mars' magic charm sound-proofed her yells from echoing up above. Raye was intending, along with Serena and the other three girls, to confront Avocado as the Sailor Scouts after school and find out all about her clan and what exactly they were up to. Avocado had long given up crying out and straining at the ropes in despair. She dreaded what sort of things might happen to her.

But then to her joyful relief, the unexpected occurred. Catzi, Birdy, Frosty and Droido materialized in her presence surrounding her chair at each corner of a make-shift square. "How did you find me?" she gasped. As Catzi and Birdy proceeded to work together striving to undo her bonds Frosty spoke.  
"Rubeus called us all together for a meeting with the Wiseman and the Grim Man. When they materialized in our spaceship they told us that you were still alive and that they had been able to pinpoint where we could find you."  
Droido continued. "We were sent to rescue you while Avery and Prizma were sent back to the charm shop to secretly arrange things so that the people who work there will continue to fuel our Crystal Point just like the people at the ice cream parlour, the cosmetics shop and the martial arts classes that meet here at the temple."  
As they slowly managed to pull the knots apart Catzi added. "Then Rubeus, Hypnotica and Thunderclap want you to help our two sisters infiltrate the fifth and final major Crystal Point. You'll be very pleased Avocado. It's suited to your unique talents. A grocery supermarket."

Just then the basement door opened and Raye's grandfather came walking down the stairs. Raye had set up a protective charm so that neither he nor Chad would see or hear Avocado if they entered the basement for any reason. However Raye had never expected that any of the other clan members would also be present. He saw the four women bending over the chair and shouted at the top of his voice. "INTRUDERS! I will fix you!"  
As he took a martial arts stance and prepared to attack Birdy cried, "Oh no! Stop him with your icy breath Frosty. Just long enough for us to escape."  
Avocado was almost completely untied and Frosty blew with all her might taking Grandfather by surprise. He pulled up short shivering with the cold and in that moment Avocado was set free.  
"Okay. Let's all go," shouted Catzi and the five of them dematerialized leaving Grandfather confused and rubbing himself to warm up again.  
"Hey. What just happened? Where did they go?"

In the meantime while Serena and Sammy were at school and Dad was at work, Rini was trying to prove to herself that she could handle the curry preparations all alone. Mum came into the kitchen to find her attempting to scrub out a big pot in the sink, while she was standing on a chair. Mum could hear her grunting and panting. "Rini dear. Are you sure you are up to this?"  
Rini defiantly said, "I don't care if you cannot come. I can make the best curry by myself." But Mum noticed how Rini struggled with the weight of the pot to tip out the water and she almost collapsed into the sink on top of the implement. "Awk!"  
Mum reacted tenderly and lunged forward putting her arms around the little girl and gently lifting her upright. "Rini. Sweet Rini. Are you all right?"

Rini started to cry as she realized the truth and admitted, "I'm just too small. I do need help. Oh why, oh why did you have to get called out to a stupid business dinner tonight?"  
She turned around and sobbed bitterly in Mum's embrace.  
Mum thought and spoke, "Rini. Why don't you ask Serena to take you round to see Darien after school?"  
"Darien?" said Rini. "But he doesn't want anything to do with Serena because of what Dad said to him."  
Mum thought again and said, "I know Rini. Serena has explained the unfortunate situation to me. But tell you what. How about I go with the two of you on the excuse of helping you and Serena at least buy ingredients for your curry tonight? I'll make sure I shower and preen myself for the business dinner before Serena or Dad come home and so Dad can be getting himself ready to go out while I take you both over to Darien's apartment. He doesn't need to know who we'll be going to see, even though he has been feeling very bad about what he said so harshly to him that day. He doesn't need any distractions tonight."  
"But why exactly should we go see Darien?" asked Rini.  
"Because I remember he was such a clever talented chef in his own right when I knew him. I will tell him that I remember him well and ask for his help as a special favour and I can also try to see if I can loosen him up toward Serena by assuring him that Dad is sorry and would like to meet him at our house for dinner one day."  
Rini kind of liked Darien, though she didn't fully know exactly why, so she cheered up and smiling at Mum said, "Okay then. Let's do it!"  
Mum and Rini hugged affectionately and laughed joyfully together.

So it was that Serena went straight home from school as soon as she received a call on her communicator from Raye. "Bad news Serena," Raye had said. "The rest of the enemy somehow found out we were holding that hostage from their number. While we were at school they snatched her back. My Grandfather caught them in the act but they subdued him with a blast of freezing cold air and escaped."  
"Oh no! What a dreadful disappointment!" groaned Serena.  
"I agree. I thought we had a strong potential lead on them," remarked Raye. "But after I call the others to let them know, I shall try my very best to get some insight from the Sacred Fire."  
"Okay. Good luck."  
Serena had felt so dejected as she walked home, but when Mum met her at the door and whispered her intentions regarding Darian she cheered up somewhat. Hugging her mother she whispered back her thankful gratitude. She hoped with all her heart that Darien would listen to her.

Darien answered the knock on his apartment door that afternoon and was faced with Serena and her mother. He was taken aback and said with a stammer, "Uh. S-serena! W-w-why have you brought y-your family to t-t-torment me?"  
Mum took charge at once. "My husband isn't here Darien. He doesn't even know about this meeting. It's just me, Serena and Rini."  
"Rini!?" Darien gasped and as he looked down Rini looked up into his perplexed face and pleaded desperately.  
"Please Darien. I really need your help."  
She was in such earnest that Darien looked at Serena and Mum and seeing that Dad was indeed nowhere to be seen said, "Okay. Come in and I'll make some tea."

And so while they shared some tea and biscuits together, Mum explained everything to Darien. How he and she had once known each other a long time ago while working at the supermarket, how very sorry Dad had been when he had found out about this and also the problem regarding Rini's curry-cooking party and the need for a substitute partner to assist Rini. Darien was amazed. "I haven't cooked curry for a long time, but I certainly recall the basic process," he said. Looking at Serena he added, "Tell you what. I'll help you buy the ingredients and go with Rini and Serena tonight as long as you promise me that Dad will not know. I'm still feeling somewhat uncomfortable even after what I've heard from you because I have also been thinking and wondering whether it really would be better if Serena and I split up because of our age differences."  
"Oh Darien!" Serena was almost ready to cry. "Please don't say that! It doesn't matter to me. I love you so very much."  
Darien gulped and said, "Please don't cry Serena. Please just at least give me a little time to think about this. That's all I ask. Is it unreasonable?"  
Mum placed her hand on Serena's shoulder. "Serena dear. I think it is quite reasonable for Darien to make this request. He had quite a shock earlier and it's made him question things. Just let him think for a little while honey."  
Serena composed herself and said, "Very well Mum."  
Rini then spoke up, "So can we all go to the supermarket now?"  
Darien smiled at her. "Yeah sure. Hey! Come to think of it we'll be going to the very same place where we first met though I have no personal recollection," he added to Serena's mother who smiled at the thought as well.  
"That is nostalgic indeed Darien."  
Serena grinned as the four of them set off together. At least Darien had not said no outrightly and just maybe, the curry party would be a positive influence on his decision.

In the meantime Avery, Prizma and their newly-restored partner Avocado had acquired special "permission" with the owners of the supermarket to set up a small stall of their very own. Due to their mesmerizing abilities of course. They were promoting a new and unique sort of fruit which they called Darkfruits. In reality they were blackberries that had been magically grown to the proportionate size of a melon and once somebody ate a free sample, he or she would unknowingly walk around and touch as many of the other fruit, vegetable and other products as possible. Thusly when those who didn't eat the Darkfruit bought and took their groceries home to eat, they would give strength to their allies' hold upon the last vital Crystal Point in Crystal Tokyo.

"Step right up folks and try our delicious Darkfruits," said Avocado disguised as an ordinary looking woman. Many people did in fact stop to look at the Darkfruits and almost everybody did try a free sample.  
"This is interesting. A new kind of fruit," said one man to his wife.  
Another woman remarked to her children. "It looks good. Do you kids want to try some?"  
"Ooh yes please Mummy." The children eagerly reached out their hands, took it and in seconds flat it disappeared into their mouths. "Delicious!" they exclaimed.

But as each grown-up and kid alike ate it, the magic took effect and they began to stroll innocently around touching everything they saw. Eventually they would buy some groceries to take home, but they were spreading the seeds around the store for the capture of the Crystal Point. Avery, Prizma and Avocado were delighted.

By the time Darien, Serena, Rini and Mum arrived, this had been going on for half an hour. Mum took charge of things. "Darien. To make you feel more comfortable I suggest we split up. Rini, you go to the meat section with Darien, while Serena and I go to the vegetable section."  
Serena was a little unhappy about leaving Darien's side, but she realized that it was what he wanted too. So she went off with her mother and Rini helped Darien select what meat they wanted. "There's some ham Darien." Rini handed him the tin of meat from the refrigerated shelves.  
"That's good Rini. Now we also want some chicken," said he as he took it from her. "Search carefully to make sure we find it."  
"Roger Darien." Rini was feeling very cheerful.

Serena and her mother collected carrots, onions and lettuce from the vegetable section. "These are the best looking veggies I've ever seen Mum," said Serena joyfully. "Rini's curry is going to be delicious at the party tonight."  
"I'm so excited for her Serena." Mum smiled and then added, "Now you keep looking here for other vegetables on her recommended list while I go search for the curry itself and the necessary sauces and seasonings. I need to walk past the fruit section to get there."  
"You can count on me Mum."

But when Mum returned Serena was astonished. "Hey! Where's the spice and stuff you said you were getting Mum?"  
She didn't answer. She just walked past Serena and began touching the rows of vegetables. "Mum? What are you doing? Talk to me!" Serena was dumbfounded, but suddenly Luna appeared by her feet.  
"Serena!"  
"Luna! What does this mean?"  
"It means get ready for another fight Serena. Raye had a premonition during her own private fire reading. There's suspicious activity happening here. She and the other Sailor Scouts are not far behind me."

Upon hearing this Serena realized that her mother was brainwashed, so she transformed. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!" Then she said to Luna, "I must go and take Rini to safety first. She's at the meat section with Darien."  
"Rini here?" gasped Luna. "You're right. You must get her out of the building but be quick about it."  
Sailor Moon sprinted towards the meats and found Rini and Darien. "It's Sailor Moon!" cried Rini.  
Sailor Moon spoke to her. "Rini listen to me. I have reason to believe some of the people who are trying to kidnap you are here in the supermarket. Please come with me and hide outside while my friends and I fight them."  
Rini responded positively. "I trust you absolutely Sailor Moon. But what about Darien?"  
Darien was ready with a good reply. "While Sailor Moon takes you to safety, I'll try to find Serena and her mother. I'm responsible for them."  
"But Darien."  
"Don't worry Rini. I'll be careful and besides, the other Sailor Scouts will be protecting all of us. Isn't that right Sailor Moon?"  
He grinned at her and she grinned back. "Yes that's right. Well come on Rini. You're the one they want the most you know."

Rini reluctantly complied and Darien ran off to find a private place where he could get ready to fight himself.  
As for Sailor Moon she carefully ran with Rini in her arms outside and ducked into a nearby alleyway. "Promise me you'll stay hiding here out of sight until you hear the coast is clear," she said.  
Rini clutched her ball and said, "I promise. I know I'll be safe."  
Therefore Sailor Moon turned and ran straight back into the supermarket and where she was concealed Rini could see the other four Scouts dash past only three minutes later. She felt very happy knowing they were going to fight for her.

Sailor Moon arrived at the Darkfruits stand first and she immediately recognized Avery and Prizma. "So you're up to your tricks again! Well, I'm putting a stop to them!"  
Upon hearing her threatening voice, the two sisters and their Droid, Avocado, turned to see her standing a few feet away.  
"Sailor Moon again!" cried Avery.  
"Destroy her for good Avocado!" ordered Prizma and Avocado didn't waste a second before changing into the form Sailor Moon remembered well from their last encounter.  
"We meet again Sailor Moon!" She yelled and brandished her banana saber weapon.

Avery said to Prizma, "We'd better put all the innocent people into a deep sleep so they don't get hurt."  
"Loud and clear Avery." With this the two of them changed into their regular appearances also and began concentrating and gesturing. As their power spread out all the people fell to the floor where they stood. Even the odd individual who hadn't eaten any Darkfruit collapsed just as they were on the verge of panicking and running away as they realized Sailor Moon was preparing to fight an extraordinary enemy.

"Look out Sailor Moon!" shouted Luna as Avocado sprang at her to slash with her saber. Sailor Moon shrieked and ducked only just in time to avoid decapitation. Avocado's weapon whistled through the air merely lopping off some strands of short, yellow hair from the top of her head. As she stumbled backwards desperately trying to find a chance to fight back, Avocado prepared to spring proclaiming, "I'm going to avenge poor Jellax and also poor Rhonda."

"Stop right there!" Another voice shouted and Avocado paused to see who it was. It was Sailor Mars. She had arrived with the other Scouts and with the help of Sailor Jupiter's great strength, they all shoved a shopping trolley sending it speeding towards Avocado's direction.  
"It's time for you to check out with your trolley," said Sailor Mars and Sailor Moon, not to mention Luna, who had been secretly observing the enemy's stand before any of them arrived, were very happy and relieved by this back-up.  
However before the trolley was exactly half way to hitting her, Avocado whipped out a pineapple and threw it at the trolley. When it struck it exploded on impact destroying it just like a grenade would do.  
Avery and Prizma both cheered. "Good defensive move Avocado! Now finish them off!"

Avocado produced an egg and said, "I'll incapacitate them first with the stench of my rotten egg bombs."  
But before she could throw it, a rose stuck in the ground just missing her foot by mere inches. As she looked down automatically in confusion, Tuxedo Mask jumped down elegantly from where he had concealed himself in hiding next to the row of perspex windows that ran along the top of the roof. He saw that the Scouts needed his help and swinging his cane he struck Avocado a painful blow on the wrist of her arm that was still stretched above ready to throw the egg. It flew backwards out of her hand and before Avery and Prizma realized, it had landed at their feet and exploded releasing its pungent, nauseating aroma. They both coughed and gasped falling to their knees as the stench entered their noses. Though since it was only one egg bomb they were not fully succumbed and they slowly rose standing upright, albeit slightly groggy.

As for Avocado, she had whipped out her banana saber in order to fight back against Tuxedo Mask and she began to duel with him against his cane. The Sailor Scouts and Luna watched with baited breath as Tuxedo Mask fought like a valient musketeer.  
As the two sisters recovered Avery said, "I'll attack the Sailor Scouts while Avocado is fighting the masked man."  
But Prizma said to her, "Hold it. I'm the older sister and so I think I should have first right at attacking."  
"But I am more skillful than you, so I should go first."  
"WHAT? You dare to say such a thing to me Avery? I'm going first!"  
"No I am!"  
And while Prizma argued with Avery, Sailor Moon's friends took the opportunity to surround them on all sides. Leaping through the air, the four of them landed nimbly on their feet one at each corner boxing the sisters in so to speak. As they realized to their dismay what had happened the Sailor Scouts began taunting them.  
"Nothing like good old sibling co-operation, and I'm right. This is nothing like it," scoffed Sailor Jupiter.  
"You can say that again as many times as you like Jupiter," said Sailor Mars.  
"What a dream team you two are," added Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus agreed.  
Avery and Prizma nervously looked around them unable to make any sounds except "Er" and "Ah."

Meanwhile Tuxedo Mask and Avocado were still thrusting and parrying at each other, in much the same way as when Avocado had fought against Sailor Moon not too long ago. She was grunting with the exertion and determined to defeat him and Sailor Moon and Luna were watching with baited breath.  
Finally Tuxedo Mask successfully managed to knock the banana saber out of Avocado's hand and even as she instinctively jumped back away from him, he pointed his cane at her. It grew to immense proportions in length and hit her in the chest, making her cry out in pain as she wobbled on her feet and clutched the area that had been struck.  
Tuxedo Mask called out, "Finish her off Sailor Moon!"  
"Oh yes Tuxedo Mask." As usual turning her tiara into the scepter she wasted no time in pointing it in the dazed Avocado's direction.  
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
As Avocado was hit her final words were screamed out venomously. "I still won't beg for mercy heartless killer!"  
Then she went kaboom leaving only a neckband she had been wearing with one of those dark moon gems that all the Droids wore somewhere upon their person.

Everybody turned their heads at the sound including Avery and Prizma. In that split second the two sisters realized the jig was up and before any of the Scouts realized, they dematerialized in retreat. But as they disappeared their voices echoed out very briefly catching everybody's attention again.  
"It's all your fault that Avocado was finally killed!"  
"Me? You were the one who stopped me from attacking the Sailor Scouts! Your responsibility!"  
It was too late to stop the bickering pair from getting away and their argument must have continued for a little while after they faded out. But now all the people at the supermarket began to wake up, wondering what was going on.

Tuxedo Mask had quickly ducked away while Sailor Moon made her move against Avocado, but all the customers, including Serena's mother and also the staff members were gathering around the Sailor Scouts asking them questions. The Scouts looked at each other and shared a mutual understanding. This time it had grown too big.  
Sailor Mars was the spokesperson by mutual agreement of the others and she addressed the crowd. "Everybody. It's all right. You were all brainwashed by a mysterious enemy, but they don't appear to have actually caused you personal harm. We are investigating these strange people and trying to find out their agenda. But they really haven't been hurting anybody in the process. That's what's so weird about the situation. But there is no need for panic at the moment until we discover what they're overall purpose entails. For now rest assured that we are watching out for them and if they begin to turn really bad we will fight every last one of them to the death."

The people were a little alarmed of course, but Sailor Mars' words were a comfort that filled them all with hope. They all thanked their guardians profusely, although the manager chased Luna out of the store. Well in truth, animals were not allowed inside the supermarket for health and hygiene reasons after all. Luna understood although she couldn't say so to the manager naturally.  
As for Mum she asked, "Where are Darien, Serena and Rini?"  
This time it was Sailor Moon who replied. "We managed to find them and safely escorted them outside before they too were brainwashed. When we leave we will tell them to come back and join you here."  
"Oh thank you Sailor Moon. Thank you." Mum was so emotional that she gave Sailor Moon a big hug. "Tell Serena I'm going to hug her just like I'm hugging you Sailor Moon."  
As the embrace ended, Sailor Moon looked at her and said, "Serena will definitely know to expect this. You can be sure."

The Sailor Scouts retrieved the neck band with the gem before they left amid loud cheers and applause. Sailor Mars would add it to the other two she already had stored away in her sleeping quarters at the temple.  
While her friends and Luna all went their separate ways, Sailor Moon looked around to make sure nobody was watching and ducked inside a phone booth. As she emerged from it as Serena she thought to herself, "Those Superman comics are right. Those things are a perfect quick change cabinet for super heroes."

Then she ran to the alley way and found Rini with Darien beside her. Darien had instinctively been drawn to Rini though he had not known where she was. He couldn't have explained it for he didn't understand himself. He had just told Rini that Sailor Moon had sent him to keep her company and Serena herself said that Sailor Moon had told her to find Rini with the good news that the enemy had been driven off once more.  
Rini was very happy to hear this. "Sailor Moon is awesome! Now can we find my aunt please Serena?"  
Serena smiled back and said, "Yes Rini. She's back in the supermarket waiting for all of us. Come on Darien."

So they met Mum back inside and she hugged everybody. Even Darien. He blushed slightly but he didn't mind. They were only friends after all. Then they all finished buying the ingredients needed and Darien agreed to accompany Serena and Rini to help cook her curry at the party that night while Mum went with Dad to the business dinner and Sammy spent the evening amusing himself.

At the school gathering Rini and Darien were a little embarrassed as Serena bawled like a great, big baby while helping to chop up the onions and then she made a few clumsy mistakes including dropping the heavy pot on her foot. Everybody was staring incredulously at her, but she persevered and so did Darien until the curry was ready. Everybody shared a little taste of it and said it was delicious.  
Rini said, "Well I must admit Serena, you may be an unbelievable clutz but you sure can make a yummy curry."  
"Yeah," said Darien. "You must have hidden talent inside your meatball shaped hair."

As he and Rini both laughed Serena didn't know whether to take it as a compliment or not, but she held her piece and ate some of her curry. "It is true," she joyfully thought. "I can cook curry."  
So she too joined in the laughter and everybody enjoyed the rest of the party.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER 8

Inside the personal quarters where they hung out together often on their spaceship Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were relaxing around a table drinking their favourite brand of champagne, when suddenly they were alerted to two familiar figures materializing in their midst. The Wiseman in his hooded robes concealing his face and his companion, the very similar Grim Man clutching his scythe. The trio quickly sprang out of their chairs to greet their mentors respectively.

Rubeus spoke humbly. "Welcome great masters. What do you have to deliver to us?"  
The Wiseman waved his weird, transparent hands over his crystal ball. "The Grim Man and I have received a new vision Rubeus. The little girl will appear today near the tenth street bridge after her school finishes in the middle of the afternoon. And get this. The crystal will also be present."  
The Grim Man said, "We want that child and the crystal both captured. No slip-ups."  
Hypnotica and Thunderclap were ecstatic to hear this. "Rubeus! As soon as we accomplish this double task, we will then be able to return to the future we call our true home."  
Hypnotica squealed with glee as she said this and Thunderclap, who had taken off her drum to sit comfortably at the table actually danced a happy jig. Rubeus said, "We'll put the sisters on it right away. They are eager for a chance to avenge the deaths of Rhonda, Jellax and Avocado."  
Then Hypnotica asked, "By the way masters. How are things faring in the future?"  
The Grim Man said, "In some ways things are good Hypnotica. In other ways, they're not." Before any of them could say anything the Wiseman went on to explain.  
"The mighty Prince is very pleased with the way you are still holding invisible control over the five major Crystal Points here in the past. When people frequent the Beauty and Cosmetics Store, the Ice-cream Parlour, the Martial Arts School, The Charms Shop and the Grocery Supermarket they have no idea that they are maintaining our control over the corresponding points in the future. The other Droid Warriors there are free to transport themselves to and from those five points and the guardians of the royal palace are blocked whenever they try to follow."  
"So Wiseman," asked Hypnotica. "What is the thing that is going wrong?"

But the Grim Man had his turn to speak. "We decided to launch an all out attack against the palace to destroy the Queen and the King who are both trapped inside there. But those four female guardians realized that they could still enter the palace. So they are concentrating hard upon combining their psychic energy and magnifying it with a giant electro rod they all periodically keep charged up every 48 hours. We have not lost any of our members in the future, but we are all as blocked from the palace as the four female warriors are blocked from the five major Crystal Point areas."  
Thunderclap suddenly gasped. "I see what is happening" she said. "These Sailor Scouts who we've been battling. They are the past selves of those female warriors in Crystal Tokyo."  
Before Rubeus or Hypnotica could say a word, the Wiseman answered. "Precisely Thunderclap. We therefore command the three of you to eliminate them here in the past so that they won't exist in the future."  
The Grim Man concluded, "Then all our plans will be finally fulfilled."  
Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica all bowed to the floor as the Wiseman and the Grim Man dematerialized. This was going to be a big showdown.

The vision that the Wiseman and the Grim Man had reported turned out to be pretty accurate enough. As Rini was walking home after leaving her school, she met Serena on the way. "Hello Rini."  
"Serena! What do you want?" asked Rini suspiciously.  
Serena answered somewhat nervously. "Well um. I thought I'd meet with you after our schools both closed today. You're such a dear little girl and we should spend more quality time together as cousins."

In truth Luna had told Serena that Rini needed to be watched closely all the time in case those weird people found her and tried to snatch her. Artemis had accompanied Luna to Rini's school and the two of them had hung around the grounds all day, staying close to the classroom building during her lessons and hiding out of sight nearby during her lunch and play break times. If there had been any such attack one of them would have run off to alert the Scouts and get them away from their schools somehow to help, while the other kept an eye on the situation and fought to delay the enemy's escape as much as possible.

The day was uneventful however and the two cats had instructed Serena to meet up with Rini and they would be following her secretly from behind. And it was the tenth street bridge at which point they met up. Serena kept the crystal around her neck in its locket of course. So everything Rubeus and his friends had heard was truly correctly fulfilled. Rini looked up at Serena and sighed. "I'm going to go and sit down halfway descending the stairs here leading down from this bridge. If you want to talk to me you can."  
Serena said "Okay," and she walked down to the halfway point and sat on the step side by side. Rini was holding her blue ball that she took everywhere with her in her hands on her lap and to Serena's bewilderment, she began to cry.  
"I miss my mummy Serena. I want to leave this place and go back to her. But it would be pointless if I did. I need the Silver Imperium Crystal to free her from her trap and save our world. Serena, it's no use denying it. I was told you have the crystal. I beg you please give it to me. I want to go home and be with my mummy safe and sound."  
Serena was getting very uneasy. Should she give her the Silver Crystal? No, of course not. But she could help her if she was really telling the truth. If she would only be willing to give her and her friends more information?  
"Rini. Will you explain more about who you are and why you're here?"  
Suddenly Rini became defensive. "No! I've already said too much! I wasn't supposed to say anything. Just please give me the crystal if you understand the anguish of my heart Serena!"  
"Rini, I can't do that. I,"  
Rini flew into a crying rage and Serena gasped as she saw the same golden crescent moon symbol appear on her forehead. It was just like what had happened when Serena had furiously accused Rini of poisoning her friends at the Cherry Hill Temple. "Hey! Wait! Stop!" Serena was panicking remembering what had happened and how the enemy had been lured to Rini by the glow from her forehead lighting up the sky above her. But Rini would not be calmed and the bright glow made Serena see stars in her eyes. It rose up very high showing her position in the middle of the staircase.  
Serena desperately hugged her pleading with her to settle down and as Rini stopped crying the beams of light abated.

But it was too late. "So you're feeling unhappy Small Lady?" said a voice from the direction down the staircase. Rini and Serena both looked down and gasped to see Birdy slowly ascending from the bottom with Frosty and Droido by her right and left sides. The Droids were in their human appearances and they were chortling with glee as they appraoached their target.  
"Rini! We'd better run back up the stairs," said Serena, however another voice called down from above.  
"It's no use. We have you surrounded."  
Looking up they were shocked to see Catzi descending from the opposite direction with Avery and Prizma on each side of her. As the pair of trios slowly closed the gap they began taunting Rini.  
"Thank you for letting us know where you were exactly," said Prizma.  
"Though we already knew you'd be by this bridge," said Frosty.  
"But you showed us precisely where you were seated and we have you hemmed in," said Avery.  
"You can't slip past us either way. We have you covered," said Droido.  
"And we will take the Silver Crystal off you too," said Catzi.  
"The Silver Crystal?" said Serena.  
"We know you have it Rini," began Birdy, then she started to speak gently to Serena. "We have nothing at all against you. This little girl is our arch-enemy. So I beg you please to not interfere wi-"

Just then Frosty desperately shouted. "Birdy! Watch your step!"  
But it was too late. Rini had placed her ball down next to her, and it had mysteriously rolled slowly down, not behaving the way a ball would normally bounce down a flight of stairs. It directed its course sideways in the path of Birdy and even as Frosty tried to warn her, she had already placed her foot upon it. To the horror of Frosty and Droido, she fell backwards and rolled down a couple of stairs, finally lying on her tummy moaning in pain.  
"My back! I think I've thrown it out of place! It's so painful!"  
While her friends turned around to help her, Serena whispered to Rini, "Now's our chance. Come with me."  
So while Frosty and Droido were crouched by their injured friend they did not notice Serena running past them to the left railing with Rini clutched tightly to her chest in a strong embrace.

But Catzi screamed out loud. "She's trying to help the brat escape!"  
Prizma cried, "We must stop them!"  
With that the other three sisters all made tremendous leaps sending them soaring through the air over the heads of Serena and Rini landing gently on their feet to turn and block their escape just as they reached the bottom of the stairs.  
"You're not going anywhere!" growled Catzi as she and her sisters held out their hands like savage cats ready to scratch with their nails. But then two real savage cats sprang from out of nowhere from behind and over the top of Serena's head taking the sisters by surprise. Artemis flew into Prizma's face and Luna flew into Avery's, hissing and snarling. Avery and Prizma screamed as the cats sank their front claws into their shoulders and they bit them on their cheeks and chins. Flailing around they fell on their backs and Catzi, momentarily in a state of shock, turned to seize Rini only to be unexpectedly biffed in the face by her blue ball. She fell on her knees in a daze and Luna shouted, "Come on! Run for it!"  
Rini was not really surprised to hear a talking cat and she told Serena, "Let me down please. I can run for myself."

So the four of them ran away with the ball floating alongside as if it had a mind of its own while Catzi and her sisters crawled to their feet. Avery and Prizma were angrily using their compact mirrors to apply antiseptic and sticking plaster to the bites on their faces and Catzi groaned as she shook her head to clear it.  
Meanwhile Droido had been working carefully on Birdy's back where she lay and with Frosty's assistance, she carefully lifted her up on her feet and down the stairs safely. Birdy gasped. "Thank goodness for your chiropractic talents Droido. My back is feeling much better. I'm only sore with bumps and bruises now."  
Prizma shouted, "Quit the chit-chat! We must get that weasel once and for all."

As for Rini, she ran with Serena and the two cats as fast as they all could until they came to a construction site. She thought to herself, "That looks like a good place to hide."  
So while the others kept on running ahead, she stopped and turned to the side. None of them realized that Rini was no longer racing by their side until they had turned the corner and run half way along the wall surrounding the construction. "Hey! Where did Rini go?" cried Serena as she first sensed her absence. Luna and Artemis pulled up to a sudden stop along with Serena and they glanced around worriedly.  
"Oh no! We can't let her wander off alone," cried Luna. "Serena! Call the other girls at once! We must find her before those weird women do."  
Serena pulled out her communicator and her friends all promised to arrive as soon as possible.

Where exactly had Rini gone? She had crawled through a small hole in the bottom of part of the fence and ducked behind a stack of steel girders. Fortunately the place was deserted. The construction crew had finished work for the day and gone home, so there was nobody to catch Rini and rebuke her for trespassing. Also nobody who might get accidentally caught in some crossfire if or when the Four Sisters and Birdy's friends tracked her down. Her ball floated along behind her and she turned around and took it in her hands. Walking to the other end of the girders she sat down and spoke to her friend through the ball.  
"Thank you for what you did to help me escape. But I'm getting scared. What if those weird ladies find me again? Even if I can't go back to you without the crystal, couldn't you at least come to stay by my side and protect me for a little while?"  
The mysteriously tall woman spoke to her. "Dearest Small Lady. You know I can never leave the gate to the Door of Time. I promised your mother I would guard it forever and if I ever break my word it will mean disaster to the fabric of space-time continuem."  
Rini began to whimper. "But who will help me here in the past?"  
"Now now Small Lady. You do have protectors in the past. Remember the Sailor Scouts?"

Rini snapped to attention when she heard this as her friend went on to elucidate. "Remember in the future they are the female warriors who are your faithful friends and have sworn to protect you and your mother for all time? Those Sailor Scouts you've met here in the past are the very same people from Crystal Tokyo and even though they don't know who you are, they are protecting you in the past because they are good and kind-hearted. And you already know who Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask are in relation to you. Correct?"  
This was definitely true. "Yes. I know where I stand in relation to them." Rini's tears were turning into tears of happiness as she thought about what her friend had pointed out to her.  
"Small Lady. Even as we speak the Sailor Scouts are doing their very best to hold off further attacks against Crystal Tokyo. But unless you can find the crystal eventually they will be defeated. This is why you must keep trying to get hold of it and depend upon Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask and the others too while you are in the past. For the sake of Crystal Tokyo you must keep your spirits up."  
"I understand. And thank you my friend. Goodbye."  
"Goodbye Small Lady. And good luck."  
With that the reception in the ball was cut off and Rini leant up against the girders lowering the ball in her hands and thinking deeply.

All of a sudden her thoughts were brought to a shocking disruption by a loud, triumphant voice. "We've tracked you down little piglet!"  
To Rini's horror she looked up and saw the Four Twisted Sisters standing before her eyes in a row. Catzi was the one who had spoken.  
"No! No!" she clutched her ball and wailed. "Go away and leave me alone!" As she cried she jumped to her feet and tried to run off to the side, only to find herself cut off by Droido and Frosty in their non-human appearances. Droido clutched the pump in her hands and said, "Stop right there! Or I'll shoot my corosive acid out of my mouth."  
Frosty added, "And I'll blow my ice cold breath at the same time. You'll be turned into a puddle of frozen sludge by our combined attack."  
Birdy laughed. "I suggest you surrender and hand over the crystal to us if you know what's good for you.  
Rini began to cry. "But I don't have the crystal."  
Prizma snarled. "Don't lie to us. We were told we would find the crystal along with you."  
Avery agreed. "It's no use stalling for time."  
Droido said with a sigh, "Though strictly speaking Frosty, we couldn't use our attacks upon her as such because we would also destroy the crystal along with her. We need that crystal in one piece."  
"Yeah, you're right Droido. But we can capture her and force her to give us the crystal." Frosty assented.  
Rini was starting to sob again. "But I honestly don't have it!"  
To this Catzi answered, "Even if you are telling the truth we know you must have hidden it somewhere. The six of us will surround you and make you tell us where to find it. Come on girls."

United as one the sisters and the two Droid Warriors began to walk towards Rini forming a ring so that she couldn't run anywhere. "Leave me alone!" Rini began to wail and the six women all laughed wickedly as they closed in.  
However they had underestimated her special defensive powers and as they were almost touching her, she screamed as loud as she could and psychic energy glowed from the Crescent that appeared on her forehead. Before they knew it they were all overwhelmed by a golden burst of light that made them all quickly shield their eyes from the intense light and next thing they were all picked up like leaves on a windy day and thrown backwards far away from Rini landing on their backs or sides groaning and moaning.

Serena was still waiting for her friends to turn up when she was drawn to attention by the golden burst of light that shot up in the air from the construction site.  
"Serena! That must be from Rini!" shouted Luna.  
"Let's go and catch up with her!" cried Artemis.  
"Okay. I'm on my way." With that Serena and the two cats raced off in the illuminated direction.

Meanwhile as the Black Moon Clan members were all staggering to their feet Rini declared defiantly, "My Mummy taught me never to go with or even speak to strangers."  
Catzi was furious. "Is that so? Well your Mummy isn't here now and we'll fix you good this time before you can fight back again. We won't kill you but we'll weaken you helpless with our,"  
"LEAVE HER ALONE YOU FREAKY SLIME!"  
At the sound of that loud voice cutting her off Catzi and the others all turned their heads to see Sailor Moon standing on top of the building's structure just a few feet above them. As she made a mighty leap to soar over their heads and land next to Rini, Avery shouted, "Sailor Moon!"  
Rini was very happy to see her and threw herself into Sailor Moon's arms while she spoke authoritatively.  
"In the Name of the Moon I will punish all of you. If you dare to attack this little girl I will execute every last one of you. So you'd better back off."  
Bending down to fully lift up Rini she said, "Come with me Rini and you'll be safe."

But Catzi said defiantly, "You won't kill us Sailor Moon. We will combine our powers and destroy you instead."  
Catzi, Birdy, Avery and Prizma all stood side by side, while Frosty and Droido stood behind Birdy. Birdy's sisters were still rather snobby and wouldn't allow the Droids to stand on Birdy's right and left sides like they wanted. This slightly annoyed both them and Birdy herself as how could they help in the attack unless they stood on the ends of the full row? Besides they didn't want to do that because Birdy wanted them staying close to her. She was determined to protect them from the fate of the other Droids so far. They appreciated this and Birdy was consoled knowing Sailor Moon needed to get through her to get them at least.  
As for Sailor Moon she was nervous. She knew that a combined attack from the Four Sisters would indeed be very dangerous, even for her. Unless the others turned up soon, she and Rini were definitely outnumbered.

Just as Avery was beginning to threaten and taunt them too, a familiar voice shouted out, "What cowardly bullies you are ganging up on our friends like that!"  
Everybody turned and Sailor Moon exclaimed happily, "The Sailor Scouts have arrived!" It was Sailor Mars who had spoken. Luna and Artemis had gone quietly back outside to meet them as they arrived and show them where to go. They were walking ahead and the girls were right behind them. The cats moved aside and the Scouts advanced introducing themselves.  
"I'm Sailor Mars!"  
"I'm Sailor Jupiter!"  
"I'm Sailor Mercury!"  
"I'm Sailor Venus!"  
Catzi sneered. "We have been waiting to have a showdown with you evil Sailor Scouts for a long time."

Sailor Moon was getting confused. "Again they call us evil," she thought. "What does it all mean? Are they crazy or just trying to confuse us?"  
But as she and Rini watched Catzi and all the others square off against their friends those thoughts were quickly forgotten for the time being. Catzi literally fought fire with fire choosing Sailor Mars for her target. "This is for my partner Rhonda and all our other loved ones." They were pretty evenly matched as their fire attacks burned against each other and fizzled out, but they both relentlessly kept on trying to get through each others' barrier.  
Avery chose Sailor Venus for her target using her frightening whips. Sailor Venus well remembered how she had been almost choked to death by a whip around her neck and ducked and weaved counterattacking with her own whip made up of Venus love hearts. Avery fought tooth and nail and they were evenly matched.  
The same with Prizma and Sailor Jupiter who both had similar electrical shock powers and the area was soon filled with loud thunder crashes and lightning flashes along with the glow of bright orange and blue flames and the sharp noises of whipcracking.

But Sailor Mercury had the toughest battle of all, since she not only had to cope with the icy powers of Birdy, but also the occasional blast of Frosty's own icy breath and the dangerous acid shooting out of Droido's mouth.  
Birdy laughed. "Good odds Sailor Mercury. Three against one. We will finish you as quickly as possible and then help my sisters overcome the other three. Then we'll destroy Sailor Moon, capture the kid and finally our families and friends will be avenged."  
Sailor Mercury desperately dodged, weaved and used her powers to freeze Droido's attacks. But it was only a matter of time before she was overpowered and Sailor Moon knew this.  
"My friends need my help," she thought. "Yet I can't leave Rini's side for fear one of them will attack her while she's alone." She hugged the terrified little girl close to her while she pondered her dilemma. If only Tuxedo Mask would show up.

Suddenly a blast of electrical power that was neither from Sailor Jupiter nor Prizma zapped Sailor Moon and Rini. "AAAAIIIEEEE!" They screamed together and the Sailor Scouts all momentarily flinched during their battles. Including Sailor Mercury who almost dearly paid the price as she hit the ground and rolled out of the way as Droido's acid shot over her missing her face by a fraction of a second. It struck the wooden wall burning a hole through it.

While her friends continued struggling valiently Sailor Moon desperately shook Rini crying, "Rini! Are you all right Rini?"  
Rini was badly dazed but she opened her eyes and pointed exclaiming, "Sailor Moon! Above!"  
Sailor Moon looked up to see Thunderclap laughing with a new drum tied to her body. The lightning conductors were still crackling from the surge of power she'd just generated and Rubeus and Hypnotica were by her side. The three of them laughed uproariously floating up above their targets.  
"This is the end of the line for you and your friends Sailor Moon," declared Rubeus.  
"Why are you doing this?" Sailor Moon shouted as she kept holding Rini tightly to her chest.  
Hypnotica spoke next. "Because you are wicked and need to be brought to justice."  
"If I'm wicked, then what do you reckon are my crimes?"  
Thunderclap replied, "Don't play dumb Sailor Moon. We know what you did."  
Rubeus pointed his finger at her and shouted, "We are all orphans because of you and your friends."  
Hypnotica added with a growlish tone to her voice, "You murdered all of our respective families in cold blood and we've sworn to get revenge."  
Sailor Moon couldn't believe her ears. "What the ding dong? We've never even met any of you before, let alone your families! This is utterly preposterous!"

Rubeus prepared to make some powerful attack of his own. "You can deny it all you want but the blood is sticking to your stained hands Sailor Moon. I shall now strike you down and capture Rini for our glorious cause." Raising his arms he conjured up some little red mini-bombs and was going to send them flying at Sailor Moon and Rini. As he threw them down Sailor Moon gave a tremendous jump taking Rini with her. Inexplicably the ball jumped with them. No doubt Rini's friend was controlling it. The bombs exploded leaving a smoking crater where they had been standing moments before. While they flew through the air Rini pleaded. "Sailor Moon! Don't let them take me!"  
"I won't!" She promised her.

But Hypnotica gestured hypnotically with her power emanating from the big curved horn in her forehead. "You will slow down. You cannot move so quickly. You can't outrun Thunderclap and Rubeus when they attack you."  
Sailor Moon felt the strong suggestive influence impeding her efforts to be ready to dodge. She grunted vainly and Rini whimpered. Rubeus and Thunderclap were getting ready to combine their powers in force.

But before they could launch their attack a barrage of roses suddenly came flying at Rubeus, petals first, disorientating him and causing his small bombs to explode. He, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were all dazzled by the blast and furthermore the shock caused Thunderclap's electrical charge to rebound upon all of them. They screamed in pain, twisting and convulsing in mid-air and Sailor Moon, released from Hypnotica's hold, looked up and cried, "Look Rini! It's Tuxedo Mask!"  
Rini was as happy as Sailor Moon herself to see Tuxedo Mask jump down from the top of a stationary crane to land gracefully by their side. He said, "Hey Sailor Moon! I think those three stooges could use a little scepter treatment. Don't you agree?"  
"You bet Tuxedo Mask!" She produced her scepter and made her attack. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
Rubeus was just beginning to recover when he saw the deadly beams approaching him and his friends. "NO! NOT US!" He reached out and grabbed Hypnotica and Thunderclap by their arms on his right and left just as they were hit.  
The others who had been fighting the Sailor Scouts were all horrified thinking they had been destroyed. Birdy screamed, "My friends!" and hugged Frosty and Droido tightly by instinct.

However Rubeus materialized just above their heads still holding his friends by their arms. He had only just managed to save himself and them in the nick of time transporting them out of the way with all his concentrated might. "Let's get out of here! Retreat!" he shouted as Hypnotica and Thunderclap realized their close call and dematerialized by their own power. Catzi, Avery and Prizma all dematerialized. So too did Birdy and her friends, although when they were all safely back at their spaceship headquarters, the others gave them a stern, disapproving, malevolent glare upon seeing them bunched together in a big cuddle and they felt like crying once more. Again they departed to their privacy chamber and strangely enough everybody felt a brief urge to call them back and tell them they hadn't meant to upset them. But as usual almost instantly it was suppressed and they all gritted their teeth and thought how disgusting those three were. Hugging! The very nerve of them.

In the meantime Rini was crying in Sailor Moon's arms while Tuxedo Mask, the Sailor Scouts and even Luna and Artemis watched wide-eyed. "Sailor Moon!" she cried. "Please always protect me from those people. I don't want them coming after me anymore. I need to find the Silver Crystal and take it back to the future to save my world from their conquest."  
Sailor Moon was intrigued and she said, "We will all keep an extra close watch on you from now on Rini. Especially me. We don't know what their little game is but we will find out and defeat them once and for all."  
Rini smiled through her tear stained face. "Thank you Sailor Moon. I promise all of you I will keep trying to get the Silver Crystal off Serena somehow. It is essential to our victory. I won't let you or my people in Crystal Tokyo down."  
Everybody was secretly wondering what the truth about Rini was. Should they share their own secrets with her? They all quietly knew this was a very important topic for personal discussion. They couldn't tell Rini anything in a hurry since they hardly knew anything about her themselves.  
Sailor Moon just said to her, "Well Rini. That's the spirit. Keep trying hard. All of us have faith in you." But how very weird it felt to be wishing her good luck against her secret identity.

At that very moment in Crystal Tokyo, the Wiseman and the Grim Man were holding council with the sinister prince seated upon his throne hidden in shadows still. The Wiseman was waving his transparent hands over his crystal ball and the Grim Man standing by his side spoke. "Your Highness. The Wiseman and I are beginning to think that this Sailor Moon plays a key role in all of this. She could even be the key to our whole mission."  
The Prince replied, "If this is true then we will have to destroy her to ensure our ultimate success."  
The Wiseman suddenly cried out, "Wait a minute. I've just realized a very vital clue here in my crystal."  
"What is it Wiseman?" asked the Prince.  
"I see that Sailor Moon is a dead ringer for the Queen of Crystal Tokyo who we have trapped in enchanted sleep at this moment. This could be the connection. They may be one and the same person."  
The Prince said, "Hmm. She may very well be the Queen's past self, just like the Sailor Scouts are the past selves of the four warriors who are hindering us as much as they possibly can."  
"Prince. You realize what this means about the child our allies in the past have been trying to capture?" asked the Grim Man.  
"I do Grim Man. If Sailor Moon is indeed the past self of the Queen then that means Rini would be her very own daughter."  
The Wiseman concluded. "Then the elimination of Sailor Moon has now become a top priority."  
"Exactly," the Prince agreed. "She is the killer of our loved ones. You, our two mentors and guardians, saved us all from being slaughtered as well and have nurtured us for the purpose of avenging our families. And now we must also avenge Rhonda, Jellax and Avocado. Sailor Moon must die!"  
"Yes your Highness."  
"We will help you achieve your revenge."  
The two sinister beings laughed wickedly and the shadowed prince joined in the laughter.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

The next day after the Black Moon Clan had made their big showdown attack Serena was trying to entertain Rini by showing her an animated movie on the DVD player. It was Sleeping Beauty by Walt Disney Productions but Rini was rather bored by it. She wasn't really interested in a fantasy cartoon film. She'd much rather be trying to find the Silver Crystal. She sat still and suffered it for the first forty-five minutes. Then she jumped off her chair and said, "This is rubbish. I'm out of here."  
Serena said, "What are you saying? This is a wonderful movie. The hero is going to awaken the beautiful princess from enchanted sleep with a kiss in the big finale."  
Rini ran away crying, "Yuck! I already know this story and I've always hated it Serena. It's sickening mush. I'm going to go to my room and find some better way to spend my weekend break time after school."

With that she disappeared leaving Serena staring wide-eyed and alone with Luna. Dad was outside painting the garage, Mum was in the laundry doing the washing and Sammy had gone out to play football in the park with some of his friends from school. He certainly would never have wanted to watch Sleeping Beauty either. He hated childish fairy tales too.

"Oooooohhh. That ungrateful Rini. I try to be friendly and look how she acts Luna."  
But Luna said, "You should try to be more understanding Serena."  
"What do you mean Luna?"  
"Well, consider her situation. She has been sent to the past to try to help her own parents who are in big trouble in the future. And she's been told to get the Silver Crystal off you. She seems to be familiar with Sailor Moon, but she doesn't know you are really her. And I've talked to her since the events yesterday afternoon. She overheard me cry out to you to run when those people attacked you and her."  
Serena was astonished to hear this. "Y-you have spoken to her Luna?"  
"She apparently suspected that I could talk from the beginning Serena. She asked me to talk to her privately. However I have not revealed the identities of you, the other girls or even Darien. She asked me if I knew where I could get the crystal. But I told her she would have to keep searching and I would try to find out for her in the meantime. I left it at that."  
"Th-thank you Luna," Serena stammered. "I wish I could help her. If only we could find out more information from her."  
"This is something we all definitely need to discuss together amongst ourselves. And we'll have to make sure we're safe from Rini overhearing us. Until we are ready to make our move we can't let Rini know who we are. She can't just take the crystal. Not even if it is going to help her future world. You should all go with her when she returns to there. The crystal is too important to us as well to risk losing it."  
Serena knew that everything Luna said was the sensible truth. What a dilemma they were facing. And in the meantime they needed to keep protecting Rini from those creepy people.

So Serena called her friends on their communicators and suggested that they all meet at the ice cream parlour in twenty-five minutes with Luna and Artemis. "We can buy ourselves ice cream treats and sit together outside away from everybody else and quietly talk about what we should do about Rini and her problem," she said and they all thought it a good suggestion.

In no time at all they were gathered together with their cones or sundaes around a public park bench out of earshot of the crowd of people. Even Luna and Artemis were lapping at some ice cream in dishes specially for them. Little did they realize of course, that when they, like all the other people bought their ice creams, they were inadvertently helping to maintain the Black Moon Clan's power over their Crystal Point in the future.  
But for now they were seriously discussing what they could do to defeat their current enemies.  
Raye said, "So this is what we know for sure so far. Rini is from this city in the future called Crystal Tokyo. And it's under some kind of attack by these invaders known as the Black Moon Clan."  
Amy added, "And Rini's mother has been put into some kind of prison by the invaders. Which is why she's here now."  
"Yeah," said Serena in a melancholy sounding voice as she stared straight ahead at nothing while Lita continued the discourse.  
"And that man with red hair resembling fire named Rubeus followed Rini here with all those strange women to help him capture Rini to prevent her from altering their hold on the future. And they also want to get the Silver Imperium Crystal just like Rini. Rini wants it to defeat them so they want to get it first to ensure their victory. What do you think we should do regarding Rini and the crystal Serena?"

But to Lita's astonishment Serena didn't say anything but kept staring blankly ahead.  
"Did you hear me Serena? Serena. Will you answer me please? We're having an important discussion here."  
Serena did turn to look at Lita and speak. But her words were, "Do you think Darien will finally decide to re-ignite our passion for each other very soon after what Mum said to him recently?"  
Everybody was exasperated. "WHAT?" they all exclaimed in unison.  
Artemis and Luna were annoyed.  
Luna said, "Serena. The subject on hand is what to do about Rini and her problems. Can't you stay on topic?"  
Artemis agreed, "Yes. We need to help that poor girl."  
"That's right," declared Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina and Serena sighed in despair.

But then she spotted Darien riding past on his motorcycle. She clearly recognized his bike and his helmet and he had a female passenger seated beside him with her arms around his waist. There was no time to call out to him. He already had a clear green light at the traffic signals. Darien may not have even seen Serena or any of the girls nearby since he was concentrating on the road. But Serena had seen him and she had seen the girl he was with. "Th-that was D-d-darien!" She leaped to her feet trembling. "Oh no. My worst fears have come true. He has made up his mind about me. He's not coming back. He's found somebody new."  
Then she began to weep and cry uncontrollably and Luna, Artemis and the girls all looked at each other in silent understanding. There was no way in the world anybody could calm Serena down. The discussion was over before it had barely begun.

Later that night when Mum, Dad and Sammy were all tucked up snugly asleep in their beds, Luna was woken up by the sound of Serena's bedroom door quietly opening. She opened her eyes where she was lying on the floor next to Serena's bed and saw Serena creeping very quietly outside. "Hmm. Where's she going?" she thought to herself.  
She silently followed Serena from a distance and saw her tip-toe downstairs so as not to wake any of her family. Next at the bottom of the stairs she crept into the kitchen. Luna was getting extremely curious by this time and slowly walked into the kitchen after her. When she did she found to her amazement that Serena was raiding the refrigerator. She was sitting down in the open door helping herself to chocolate cake, biscuits, cheese, apple pie and chicken.  
"Serena! What are you doing?" exclaimed Luna. "You'll have a difficult time getting to sleep if you eat all of that!"

Somebody else was secretly awake however. It was Rini. She had been unable to settle down thinking about the Silver Crystal and she had crept out of her own room a few minutes after Serena and Luna had gone downstairs in her pajamas and slippers holding her ball. She silently entered the kitchen doorway just as Serena replied to Luna in a sobbing, whiny voice.  
"I don't care. I just don't care if I'm unable to sleep. Or if I put on weight or even get a tummy ache. Darien has found himself a new girl. My heart is broken and I intend to console myself with food."  
Upon hearing this Rini gasped in shock. Turning away with tears in her own eyes while Serena cried and ate she made her way to the chimney fireplace and standing inside she furtively bounced her ball and whispered. "Mini Magic Tricks. Levitate me up through the chimney and lower me gently down to the ground outside."

Grabbing her ball after casting the spell she gently rose upwards and out the top. Fortunately they always kept the chimney professionally wiped clean and slowly descending outside she ran off in consternation and distress. "Darien can't have a new girl." She thought to herself as she ran down the street. "Something deep down inside my heart seems to tell me that he must get back together with Serena. I can't explain why but I just know that for my own good they need to be romantically linked."  
Even Luna hadn't noticed Rini just earlier but in the next minute or two she and Serena both had their attention drawn to her. She became so upset with the thought that Darien may have irreconciably broken up with Serena that she began to cry and set off her golden illumination effect once more.

Mum, Dad and Sammy were all sound sleepers but Luna noticed the glow permeating the kitchen through the windows. "Serena! That's Rini's signal! She must be in trouble!"  
Even Serena paused with a big bite of apple pie in her mouth and said a muffled "Oh no." She was genuinely concerned about Rini and forgot her sorrows at once.  
And Rini certainly needed help. Rubeus had been using his holographic monitor to diligently search the city for signs of her and he saw the tell-tale flash of light.

He called everybody to an urgent meeting. "The little brat's revealed herself again. We've pinpointed where her energy is coming from."  
"Who are you going to send this time Rubeus?" asked Avery. Everybody else was on the edge of their seat wondering what the plan would be.  
Rubeus answered. "I think I'm going to have this mission myself. But I'll take you with me Avery. And Prizma too. The three of us will be able to catch her easily."  
Avery and Prizma raised their fists and said, "We are ready to serve our cause Rubeus."  
But Rubeus wasn't finished. "But if or when those dastardly Sailor Scouts show up this is what I propose. My good buddy Hypnotica shall accompany us but stay in hiding until the enemy appear. Then she shall use her hypnotic abilities to put them into an unwakeable sleep. Then we can take them as easy prisoners back to the future with us and break the spell long enough for our prince to declare judgement upon them and then the Wiseman and the Grim Man shall destroy them. And with their deaths, the Sailor Scouts of the future and the Queen of Crystal Tokyo shall be wiped out of existence. Our families will be so fittingly avenged."  
Everybody cheered this proposal and Hypnotica said, "You can count on me dear Rubeus."  
Thunderclap said, "While you are both gone it shall be my turn to act as chief in command. Hypnotica did it when I went on a mission with you awhile ago Rubeus. I pledge to do just as well a job."  
"Thank you my friend. I wouldn't expect any less," smiled Rubeus. "Let's all get going now, shall we?"  
Everybody cheered even more as Rubeus, Avery, Prizma and Hypnotica all left to seek out Rini once and for all.

So while Rini was running along and crying Rubeus, Avery and Prizma suddenly materialized in her way.  
"We have you cornered you little weasel," said Rubeus and Avery made her move as Rini gasped. Remembering how she had struck them all down the last time, Avery lashed out with her whip sending it coiling around Rini's entire body from her neck down to her ankles. Then Prizma put her finger to the whip and sent a mild electric current running through it stunning Rini to prevent her from using her defensive power.  
Avery then picked up Rini's limp body. "We've done it Rubeus," she crowed.

But then Luna came running from out of nowhere and jumping up onto Avery began scratching her arm.  
"YEEEAAAARRGHHH!" Avery dropped Rini and clutched her bleeding arm while Luna leaped aside and Prizma and Rubeus turned to see Luna running to stand alongside Sailor Moon, who was frowning and glaring at them. "I've had just about enough of you creeps bullying poor Rini. In the Name of the Moon I shall put a stop to it."  
Rubeus said, "We've had too much of you Sailor Moon. But we have you right where we want you once and for all. Hypnotica! Do your stuff!"

As Hypnotica materialized in a puff of smoke Sailor Moon automatically looked up at her. But that was a fatal mistake. Hypnotica began to chant. "Look into my eyes. You are getting sleepy. Go to sleep. You need to lie down and rest."  
Luna cried, "Sailor Moon. Don't look at her." But it was too late. Sailor Moon lay down and spoke dreamily.  
"You were wrong about all that food keeping me awake Luna. Good night."  
Rubeus, Prizma and Avery all laughed as they picked up Rini again between them. Luna was horrified.

But their laughter was cut off by the arrival of Artemis and the other Scouts surrounding them on all sides.  
Sailor Jupiter said, "We all came as fast as we could when Sailor Moon called us."  
Sailor Mercury said, "Yes. We will put a stop to your little game as usual."  
"Release Rini," demanded Sailor Mars.  
But Rubeus answered, "I'm afraid things are not going to work out in your favour this time Sailor Scouts." Then he, Prizma and Avery gave a mighty combined leap into the air, still clutching Rini.  
Before the Sailor Scouts could say or do anything Avery called out, "Our comrade Hypnotica will fix you all good."  
Rubeus cried, "Yes Hypnotica! We're counting on you!"

Even as Rubeus was shouting Hypnotica was already emanating her powers from the horn in her head towards the Scouts. "Go to sleep! Go to sleep! You are feeling drowsy! You need to rest!"  
As the girls began to yawn Luna shouted, "Don't let her hypnotize you! You must fight!"  
Even while Mars was feeling the effects and yawning she summoned up a counter-attack. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
She sent one of her charms flying up to stick to Hypnotica's face over her eyes. She screamed and turned into the form resembling smoke she had briefly taken before she had fully materialized earlier.

Prizma and Avery, who were still holding the bound Rini, both gasped and Rubeus was furious. "You can't do that to my friend."  
"But I did," answered Sailor Mars rising to her feet.  
Avery and Prizma were so side-tracked they failed to realize that Rini had regained consciousness and summoning up her reserves she gave them both the same sort of shock they had received with Catzi, Birdy, Droido and Frosty the other day. With loud cries that made Rubeus turn around with a start the two sisters fell stunned to the ground and Rini dropped lightly shaking the coil of whip off her.

Sailor Mercury ran over to hold her protectively and Sailor Venus went over to rouse Sailor Moon, who was still asleep.  
Taking her in her arms she said, "Hey Sailor Moon. Wake up."  
But Rubeus turned back to them snarling, "She won't wake up. Hypnotica has another trick up her sleeve. My friend. Invade her prone body."  
Then before any of them knew what happened the smoke formed a long, thin strand that flew downwards and right up Sailor Moon's nose.  
"Hey! What was that?" gasped Sailor Venus still cradling Sailor Moon's upper torso.  
Rubeus exclaimed triumphantly, "My buddy has entered her body in her ethereal state. She will slowly kill her while keeping her trapped in her hypnotic sleep. And there is nothing you can do about it."

Everybody, including Rini was horrified and Sailors Mars and Jupiter clenched their fists. "Why you!"  
"Now now. It's no use threatening me. I can give you a fight if you want but all the time Hypnotica will be draining Sailor Moon's life energy. You can only save her by overcoming the hypnosis and waking her up. If you can. Which you can't. HA HA HA HA!"  
Realizing what he said was true, Mars and Jupiter started working hard with Mercury and Venus to shake Sailor Moon and yell at her to wake up while Artemis, Luna and Rini watched helplessly. But they couldn't rouse her even for a second and Rubeus watched with satisfaction as he rubbed his hands and chuckled.

Suddenly everybody's attention, including Rubeus, was attracted by the arrival of a motorcycle. Sailor Mercury gasped. "Look. It's Tuxedo Mask."  
They all gaped and Rubeus sneered to behold Darien dressed in his Tuxedo Mask persona while seated upon his motorcycle. He jumped off and ran towards Sailor Moon's inert form while Luna, Artemis, Rini and the other girls all stepped aside to give him room.  
"Do you think he can help her?" asked Sailor Jupiter.  
"Naturally he can't," scoffed Rubeus while Avery and Prizma were groggily climbing to their feet.  
Tuxedo Mask was highly concerned. He shook Sailor Moon and spoke urgently to her. "Sailor Moon! Wake up! Can't you hear me?"  
Sailor Moon actually muttered in her sleep. "Darien. How could you break my heart so? I saw you with your new girlfriend on your motorbike just recently."

Tuxedo Mask gasped. Realizing the truth of the way he felt he hugged her tightly and cried, "Sailor Moon! You misinterpreted what you saw, but I realize now that deep down I love you too and cannot live without you. Please come back to me."  
And with that he kissed her. To the horror of Rubeus, Avery and Prizma and to the joy of all the others, Sailor Moon immediately opened her eyes and hugging Darien cried, "Oh is it true? You really do still love me?"  
Smiling behind his mask he replied, "Yes I do my precious Meatball-head."  
Sailor Mercury had happy tears in her eyes. "The power of love has brought Sailor Moon back to us."  
Rini said in amazement, "I never liked the story of Sleeping Beauty. But I'm so delighted to have seen its ending re-enacted by Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask." She knew what they meant to her though she still didn't know they were Serena and Darien.

Hypnotica appeared in a swirl of smoke that formed into her body next to her buddy Rubeus up in the air. She was furious. "How could that confounded Cape-boy have expelled me from her body? I'll fix him good."  
Then she reached up and took hold of the horn in her forehead. She was about to do something extraordinary and seriously deadly.  
She actually proceeded to pull the horn out of her head. It came out easily and smoothly with no blood or any other gore. It turned out to be the handle of a sinister, curved, elaborate dagger and it left a clean, gaping hole in her forehead resembling a standard sheath of all things. She lunged at Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon and they jumped aside in a hurry. But Tuxedo Mask cried out in pain as his shoulder was scratched, tearing his clothing and staining it with blood.  
Sailor Moon shouted vehemently. "How dare you wound my boyfriend. It's me you really want so come on. Let's fight."  
Hypnotica brandished the dagger and snarled. "Lights out. It's past your eternal bedtime."  
As she prepared to lunge at her Sailor Moon grabbed her tiara and as usual it changed to her scepter. "I'll decide when it's my bedtime creep."  
Rubeus cried out, "Be careful dear Hypnotica. That's a very dangerous weapon."

Hypnotica tried to run Sailor Moon through the heart. But Sailor Moon side-stepped and swung her scepter like a baseball bat and caught Hypnotica under her arm. She still managed to retain her grip on the dagger, but she was thrown off balance backwards by the force of the blow pushing her arm up from underneath. Grunting she struggled to maintain her balance but Sailor Moon was now preparing her attack. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMIN-"  
Rubeus came to Hypnotica's rescue and Avery and Prizma also jumped forward ready to attack. Rubeus had grabbed Sailor Moon from behind and was struggling to pull her scepter out of her hand.

Sailor Mars drew his attention away however by attacking Hypnotica herself. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
At the same time Sailor Mercury shouted out her attack against Avery and Prizma. "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"  
The two sisters screamed in agony as they were trapped similarly to the way Birdy's friend Frosty had been the very first time Mercury had ever used this new power and Hypnotica also screamed as Mars' rings of fire struck her burning her badly. Unlike Catzi's deceased partner Rhonda though, she was able to save herself from hopelessly going up in flames by converting herself to smoke. Rubeus meanwhile still had his hold on Sailor Moon, one arm round her neck and the opposite hand clutching her wrist with the scepter in her grip. He had stopped struggling with her though she couldn't break his iron hold all the same. He had been greatly alarmed but he felt relieved when he realized his friend had escaped.

While this was happening Sailor Jupiter attacked Avery and Prizma. They were helplessly immobile. "JUPITER THUNDERBOLT ZAP!" Her bolt struck them hard shattering the icy wall that held them and in the process giving them a very nasty shock. It threw them several feet backwards where they landed in dazed and groaning heaps.

Meanwhile Hypnotica manifested herself next to Rubeus and was going to slit Sailor Moon's throat. But Tuxedo Mask threw two roses with skilled precision that stuck in the hole in Hypnotica's forehead. It was designed only for one thing. The dagger and so it was rather painful to have the stems of those flowers suddenly jab inside her head. "Ouch! Owwww! It hurts!" She still didn't lose her grip on the dagger but she put her other hand to her forehead and Rubeus aghast, finally released Sailor Moon to take hold of her. He saw Sailor Venus glaring at them ready to use her own attack at any moment and Sailor Moon turned to look at them also. She was too close to use her scepter elimination attack but she brandished it menacingly like a club. Rubeus knew they had been defeated again and he quickly transported himself and Hypnotica away from where they were. They briefly appeared up in the sky where he urgently yelled down to Prizma and Avery, "Retreat with us back to headquarters!"  
The two sisters were only too eager to get out of there, so supporting each other with linked arms they dematerialized where they were still sitting on the ground and so did Rubeus taking his injured friend back with him.

When they arrived Prizma, Avery and Hypnotica all received a medical look over by Frosty, who was skilled in such matters. The two sisters had been shook up and were badly bruised where they had fallen. But there were no broken bones or any other serious damage. They were given appropriate first-aid treatments with soothing cream and instructed to lay down and rest.  
As for Hypnotica fortunately the rose stems had not caused any piercings inside her head. Frosty said there were no scratches or bleeding spots at all. "I'll just wrap some small ice cubes inside this sterilized, clean handkerchief and gently place it inside to soothe the pain. When it has all melted I'll have another look and gently dry it with a soft handtowel. I think you're going to be fine Hypnotica."  
So with that she went to rest and recover too. Rubeus was not happy though. He said to Thunderclap, "We must come up with a perfect plan to eliminate the Sailor Scouts and the masked man in the tuxedo. Sooner or later more of us are going to die while fighting them. And if it happens to you or Hypnotica, dear Thunderclap, I'll be devastated."  
"I don't want anything to happen to you or her either, dear Rubeus. And I know Hypnotica would say the very same thing herself," said Thunderclap. "We must be very careful."  
They weren't the only ones feeling this way. Birdy, Droido and Frosty were all very worried. Of course Birdy didn't wish death upon her own biological sisters, but they just weren't as close to her as her two personal Droids were. She wanted them to survive and they wanted her to survive.  
They all wanted to survive and live long lives together. The thought of what could potentially happen filled them with dread forebodings.

Getting back to Sailor Moon and all the others, first of all she and Tuxedo Mask had a lovely moment cuddling with Rini. Then they looked into each others' eyes and then at the other Scouts' smiling faces. Finally they spoke to Rini.  
"Rini. Sailor Moon and I need to go off somewhere for a personal private talk now. But you'll be in the company of our friends here and they'll make sure you get back home safely and to your bed without disturbing the rest of your family."  
Sailor Moon herself added, "And don't worry. We'll see you again sometime soon."  
"But what about Serena?" Rini asked concernedly. "When I left her at home she was wide awake in the kitchen, feeding her face and crying because Darien dumped her for someone else."  
Tuxedo Mask was taken aback but Sailor Moon quickly thought of a reply. "Oh, it's all right. I know that Serena is at home sound asleep in her room. Sailor Mars had one of her visions and she told me that she had gone to sleep in the end instead of eating herself sick. And also tomorrow she will discover she was wrong about Darien. He still loves her and he will tell her so."  
Rini perked up upon hearing this. "R-r-really?"  
Sailor Mars played her part well. "Yes that's true Rini. You have nothing at all to worry about."  
The other Scouts all cheerfully agreed and Sailor Moon hugged her one last time before getting on Tuxedo Mask's motorbike behind him. "Well Rini. Tuxedo Mask and I need to deeply talk among ourselves. Bye now."  
"Goodbye," called Rini happily and she waved as the pair rode off into the night. Artemis and Luna felt as cheerful as the rest.

They found a secluded look-out point facing the waterfront where they changed into their civilian identities and held each other as they talked. Serena was blown away by Darien's explanation of what she'd thought she'd seen. "So that girl on your bike was the little sister of Andrew, the manager of the Videogame Arcade?"  
"Yes that's right Serena. Lizzie's her name. Andrew asked me as a special favour to give her a ride to her hairdresser's appointment because she couldn't afford a taxi and she'd missed her bus. That's when you saw us."  
"And that was all it was? Giving her a ride?"  
"Yeah. She's nothing but a friend, just like her brother Andrew's my friend. But tell me. You were actually going to eat yourself sick because of the way you misconstrued things when you saw us?"  
Serena felt rather embarrassed about it now and blushed like a red light traffic signal. "Uh yeah. Stupid huh?"  
But Darien took her chin in his fingertips and gently tilted her head so she could see his broad smiling grin. "Stupid yes. But I was stupid too. I should have been willing to listen to you when you tried to tell me what your mother had said to your father in the first place. Ever since we went curry shopping with her I've been mulling over what she told me herself and when my sixth sense told me that you were in trouble tonight I came as fast as I could on my bike here. I didn't know what sort of trouble it was of course but when I saw the state you were in and heard those words you muttered in your sleep, that was the final piece of the puzzle that woke me up to how silly I was to put any barrier between us. Oh Serena. I love you dearly. We are destined for each other."

They hugged tightly and wept joyful tears. "Dear Darien. I really knew in my heart that you still loved me."  
"Forever my Meatball-head." She laughed hearing him say this.  
"So um. Will you come to dinner one day and meet Dad socially? Mum has been wanting me to invite you for a long time."  
Darien thought for a moment, then said, "Of course I will. As long as you make me one promise Serena."  
"What's that Darien?"  
"Don't ever eat yourself sick please."  
Serena said, "That I do solemnly promise." And they hugged and laughed all the more merrily.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER 10

The Wiseman and the Grim Man were in the process of briefing Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica. Their holographic forms were in their usual place in the middle of the room.  
The Grim Man said, "We do heartily commend you on the job you've all done in capturing the five Crystal Points. The Droid Warriors in Crystal Tokyo still have complete mastery over the equivalent areas in the future."  
Then the Wiseman spoke next. "However we need that child in our custody. The palace is still off limits to us even though the Queen is still trapped in sleep. The Sailor Scouts of the future are unbelievable. Even the Prince cannot fathom their stamina."  
"You mean they are still protecting the palace from assault Wiseman? But they must be getting hungry and fatigued?" exclaimed Hypnotica.  
The Grim Man answered, "Yes, but their determination to keep fighting is superhuman. I know it's incredible, but it's true."  
Rubeus asked, "Can you help us with any information?"  
The Wiseman waved his hands over his ever present crystal ball and said, "I can tell you that the child will be at the Cherry Hill Temple sometime this afternoon and the crystal's energy will emanate from there around the same time."  
Rubeus and his friends both gasped. The crystal that could either spell their defeat if used against them or ensure their victory if it fell into their own control.

"We want the child and the crystal captured once and for all," said the Grim Man.  
Hypnotica said, "Catzi's familiar with that Temple Rubeus. Let's send her."  
Rubeus and Thunderclap agreed it was a smart move.  
The Wiseman and the Grim Man stressed how serious success was. The Wiseman's eyes glowed brightly in the darkness of his shadowed face inside his sinister hood as he said, "Rubeus. You do whatever it takes to help her understand this. Even if you need to give her a shaking up in some unexpected way. Get it?"  
As his eyes glowed Rubeus' own eyes seemed to dull and go glassy for just a fraction of a second and he said, "I get it Wiseman. You can depend on me to make the message clear to her."  
So the two creepy hooded figures faded away and Rubeus said to Thunderclap and Hypnotica, "Stay here and let me brief Catzi."  
"Okay Rubeus."  
"You brief her well. HA-HA!"

And as Rubeus left their quarters and entered the main ship he saw everybody gathered around except Catzi.  
"Where is Catzi?" he demanded and Birdy answered.  
"She's in her own quarters Rubeus. She's not long arrived back and went to her room."  
"Where has she been?"  
Avery gave answer this time. "She decided she wanted to go on a short shopping spree."  
"What? How long was she absent?"  
"Only three quarters of an hour. Rather a very brief time considering," explained Droido but Rubeus made an angry face and stormed past without another word.  
Birdy, Droido and Frosty all gulped nervously while Avery and Prizma just ignored the situation without a care. To them Catzi's worries with Rubeus were her own affair. What was it to them?

Rubeus strode down the long corridor until he came to Catzi's door and practically pounded on it. "Catzi! Let me in!" He yelled and the door opened and Catzi's terrified face appeared as he barged into her room immediately pushing her aside.  
"R-rubeus! You startled me."  
"There's no time to beat about the bush Catzi! The Wiseman and the Grim Man have been speaking to me, Thunderclap and Hypnotica! The child will be at the Cherry Hill Temple this afternoon! And get this. So will the Silver Crystal!"  
When she heard him say this Catzi was rapt to attention. "I see. So you want me to spy out the temple and grab both of our targets. I'll accomplish this important task and then we'll be able to return to the future."  
"Exactly Catzi. The Prince wants them both today. It's of critical importance. I will leave you to get ready."

As he turned Catzi urgently said, "Wait a minute Rubeus. I have a little gift for you." Her eyes shone with adoration and affection as she turned and ran to a desk and pulled open the drawer. Taking out a small crystal bottle she walked back to Rubeus holding it out to him. "I wanted to buy you something special while I was out "shopping" earlier today. It's very expensive but of course I could afford it. Naturally I received 100% discount on everything with my special magic mind control."  
Rubeus reached out and blankly took it from her. "Why thank you. It's just what I need to illustrate the point I must emphasize." Having said that Rubeus crushed the bottle in his big, strong hand shattering it.  
"WHAT?" cried Catzi in horror as Rubeus showed her his palm with the broken pieces and the dripping contents.  
"If you fail all of our lives will be broken just like this little bottle. So success is essentially vital. Now prepare yourself please."  
As he left closing the door behind him Catzi began to weep bitterly. Rubeus paused a second, held his palm up to his nose and sniffed. His eyes bulged as he thought to himself, "This was my favourite brand of aftershave."  
He turned his upper torso around to face the door where Catzi's wailings could be heard from behind, but immediately his eyes grew both stern and glazed over and he yelled loudly. "Remember that little object lesson! Do not fail Catzi!"

Later at mid-afternoon Mina and Lita sat rather boredly at an outside table at the cafe consoling themselves with iced coffees. Mina sighed. "I am like super bored. I have no money to go shopping or even see a movie. Between us we could just barely afford our drinks here."  
"Yeah. I second what you just said," Lita moaned.  
Luna and Artemis sat on their laps and Lita bent down and whispered to Luna. "So why are you hanging out with us? Where's Serena and the others?"  
When Luna whispered her reply Lita said out loud to Mina. "Amy's studying, Raye's working at the temple and Serena went over there to borrow some more comic books off her. It's just you and I Mina."  
Mina groaned. "And neither of us has a boyfriend. So we're stuck with each other and these two cats."  
"Hey! That's not our fault is it?" Artemis hissed indignantly to Mina and the two girls both pacified him quietly to avoid attracting undue attention.

At that moment Raye walked into her personal bedroom at the temple to find Serena laughing like a hyena with a stack of comics beside her. She was rather annoyed. "You still here? I thought you were going to borrow those and take yourself home out of my way?"  
Serena had a huge grin on her face as she said, "I was going to. But then I thought if I just read them all here I wouldn't need to lug them home and get all puffed out in the process."  
"You're so lazy Serena. By the way. Have you done all your alotted homework for Miss Haruna before you decided to come to see me about some comic books to read?"  
Serena hesitated somewhat nervously after Raye asked her challenging question. "Huh? Oh yeah sure. Well most of it. I'll easily finish the rest later tonight."

Raye was rolling her eyes but before she could make any kind of reply a woman's voice called out from the open doorway. "Hello! Is anybody home?"  
Raye forgot all about her question to Serena as she turned her attention to the figure in the main entrance. "Who's there?"  
It was Catzi dressed in a red mini skirt with matching top and a large ladies hat. She carried a small suitcase and her upside-down crescent mark had mysteriously vanished from her forehead. "Good day," she cheerily exclaimed. "I'm a make-up saleswoman. But I probably won't sell too much make-up here. You two both look like you're models."  
Serena gasped in amazement behind Raye. She had quickly jumped up and followed her to meet this visitor and Raye was also smiling and feeling somewhat flattered. "Oh! You really think we look like models?"  
Catzi replied, "What? You mean you're not?"

Her subtle technique had worked. She had made them feel joyful and all buttered up and they agreed to at least sit down and look at her products and discuss them with her. Earlier Droido had helped Catzi acquire her products at the very beauty shop she and her two friends had first targeted. She had gone "shopping" there with Catzi and using their hypnotic mind control, the workers had been very helpful in picking out a fine selection of various creams, lipsticks and eye-shadows for Catzi to use as part of her disguise. Neither the workers themselves nor any of the customers present even remembered seeing Droido and Catzi at all and Droido returned to their spaceship, while Catzi went to the temple to await Rini's arrival and scout out the place to try to locate the crystal.  
She was secretly perusing Raye's room to consider whether the crystal may be hidden someplace there as she talked about the make-up items.

Raye and Serena were very impressed. "These are all very good. How much is the revitalizing facial cream?" asked Raye.  
"For you I'll do a special deal. Normally it's fifteen dollars. But you can have it for seven dollars and fifty cents."  
Raye liked the sound of Catzi's offer. So she bought a bottle.  
Serena said, "Would you loan me seven fifty please Raye?"  
Raye said, "Certainly not Serena. You still owe me ten dollars that I loaned you last week."  
Serena said, "Aw. But I really want some of that cream for myself."  
"Well Serena. If you didn't splurge all your money at the Videogame Arcade all the time you'd have spare cash to buy yourself special treats like this once in a while."  
"Aw Raye. You loaned Amy and Lita some spare change so they could buy that big book and those new shoes they wanted respectively recently."  
"Yeah. But I don't mind that because I know I can depend on them Serena. They paid me back in full as soon as they had their pocket money the following week. You should learn from their example."  
Before Serena could whine some more, Catzi said with a smile, "Well then, since I've completed my sale I guess I'll be going now. See you girls."  
Raye thanked her and said goodbye while Serena moped.

As Catzi left she thought, "What nice girls they are. While I'm waiting for the crystal and the kid to show up I'll try to sell some more make-up to people. I'll keep the money and buy something special for myself though. I won't waste my generosity on that creep Rubeus. I thought he loved me, but I won't forgive him after what he did to me earlier."  
She was deeply insulted and thought she would spend the money for real on herself, but if she saw something that cost more than she had then she would use her mind control so the store employee would take just the amount she had on her.

As it so happened after Catzi left, Raye went outside and came back ten minutes later to say, "Hey Serena! Guess what?"  
Serena looked up from the comic book she was reading and said, "I don't know. Tell me Raye."  
"Well, that make-up saleswoman is around the entrance talking to somebody who has come to visit the temple about her products. And it happens to be none other than Miss Haruna."  
On hearing this Serena felt like a cold wave had washed over her leaving icy chills all throughout her body. Putting down the comic she stood up trembling. "Oh. Th-that's interesting. By the way th-thank you Raye for letting me c-c-come round. I must be g-g-going home now."  
Raye rolled her eyes and said, "Right. Sure, it's time to finish the last of your homework Serena."  
"Y-y-yes. See you l-l-later."  
As Serena slipped away Raye noticed she was heading for the back entrance and thought to herself, "I just bet she hasn't done a single line of her homework yet."

Catzi actually made a sale of some products to Miss Haruna who was very pleased with her purchase. Then she went to look at the temple and never knew that Serena had been present at all. Catzi kept innocently watching the front steps assuming that Rini would come the way most people did. Though she was wrong.

As Serena was making her way down the lesser used back stairs she met Rini.  
"What are you doing Rini?" She asked.  
"I've come to visit Raye and look at some of her comic books Serena."  
"Oh. That's what I've just been doing. Well I'm in a rush to get home now Rini."  
Rini picked up on the nervousness in Serena's tone and she said, "But unlike you Serena, I've finished all my homework before coming here. Furthermore you probably didn't call Raye to ask if you could even come first. It's bad manners to show up uninvited you know."  
Serena was not pleased with this stinging rebuke and started to retort. "How dare you speak so impertinently?"  
Then she screamed as the bus drove round the corner. If no crowd of people was at the nearby bus stop she would have to walk home and it was getting very late. "Aaaahh! No! No! Wait for me!"  
As she raced down the rest of the stairs and disappeared Rini silently scoffed. "Silly Serena." Then she turned and ran up the opposite way to the top eager to find Raye.

As Rini skipped merrily along holding her ball the way all kids do, she called out, "Raye! Where are you? It's me, Rini!"  
Catzi heard her and turned facing the direction where her voice came from. "The kid is over there!" she thought.  
While nobody else was in sight, she magically changed her outfit to her regular clothing discarding her disguise. Her upside-down crescent mark reappeared in its place on her forehead and she gave a tremendous leap soaring through the air until she was directly over her unsuspecting quarry.  
"Hello Munchkin!"

As Rini looked up in fright Catzi swooped down on her with a big sack and slipped it over her head and all the way down to her feet. "You've no chance to escape this time. This sack is magically resistant to your personal powers," exclaimed Catzi as she was tying the sack up while Rini struggled and grunted.

But then a rose came flying downwards and as it stuck into the ground at Catzi's feet, it startled her before she could firmly secure the sack. "What the?"  
Even as she looked up and gasped, Tuxedo Mask was already jumping nimbly down from where he had been standing atop the structure of a huge arched gateway. Snatching the sack out of Catzi's hands he said, "I could feel in my inner being that this little girl was going to be in danger and so I speedily made my way here just in time to save her from you. I'll take her now."  
With that he turned and jumped to the rooftop of a pagoda and Catzi screamed. "NO! I won't let you defeat me Cape-boy. You'll feel the burning of my flame attack."

But little did Catzi know that Raye had also been responsive to the sound of Rini's voice and she had observed the attack on her and Tuxedo Mask's heroic rescue a few feet behind Catzi's back. So she had quickly ducked into the shadows and transformed into Sailor Mars and just as Catzi was about to send an attack at Tuxedo Mask and Rini, she herself sent a surprise attack at her. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
Even as Catzi turned in shock at the sound of the attack, the rings of fire relentlessly surrounded her and she was burned. However Sailor Mars was determined to capture her alive and therefore the fire rings she summoned were only rather mild and Catzi did not go up in intense flame. She painfully collapsed to her knees and hands like a baby and groaned with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Sailor Mars bounded over to grab her and called up to Tuxedo Mask, "Hurry and help me secure her!"

By now he had assisted Rini out of the sack, into his arms and she climbed around onto his back holding firmly as he jumped back down to throw the sack over Catzi's own head. He aided Sailor Mars in pulling the little sack as far as it would go down Catzi's body, tying her arms by her sides with her hands sticking out. Catzi was helpless and was dragged to her feet, her muffled screaming buried in the covering of her upper torso.

While Rini picked up her ball that had fallen to the ground when she was attacked, Grandfather, Chad, Miss Haruna and a small crowd of other visitors to the temple were attracted by the commotion. But Sailor Mars took charge at once. "Everybody do not panic. I am meeting in privacy with the priestess Raye in the room of the Sacred Fire. She will help me interrogate this intruder when the other Sailor Scouts join me. I would strongly appreciate your full co-operation in staying well away from the room in question." Addressing her grandfather she said, "Old man I trust you and your assistant will make sure everybody complies."  
Grandfather and Chad solemnly promised. "We will Sailor Mars."  
"Okay folks. Stay back."  
"And you stay with me Rini," said Tuxedo Mask leading her away.  
She didn't mind since she was thankful to be safe and she loved being in his presence very much. The two of them quietly left the temple grounds and Sailor Mars dragged the captive Catzi towards the Sacred Fire's shrine where she would call the others and summon them to join her. Now they had a prisoner they had a perfect opportunity to dredge out as much information about the Black Moon Clan as they possibly could.

In no time at all Artemis, Luna and the other four Scouts were gathered with Sailor Mars around Catzi who was tied to a chair, much like Avocado had previously been when she had been taken prisoner. The strange faded gems that had been left behind when she, Jellax and Rhonda had all died were resting in a glass cupboard nearby and Catzi was frowning angrily at them. "You murdered my personal ally Rhonda and two of our other comrades!"  
Sailor Moon was in a rather grouchy mood at having been forced to be there. She had been upset because she had so much homework to do, but Luna had nagged and nagged her about her Sailor Scout duties until she had said in a huff that she would go. She fairly snapped at Catzi. "I only kill people who are up to no good! You and your clan are evil!"  
"You are evil Sailor Scouts! I don't care if you murder me! I'll try to kill as many of you as I can before I die!"

To everybody's dismay Catzi stood up, while her arms were tied behind the chair and attempted to charge them with a cry of malicious rage. Sailor Jupiter swung her leg up in a martial arts movement and hit Catzi in the chest with her knee. She toppled over and fell to the floor on her left side and she couldn't get up bound as she was. She screamed venomously. "Murderers of my mother and father! All my family wiped out except my three sisters! One day you will all be brought to justice for your vile crimes!"  
Sailor Mercury said, "The clan has been universally saying that we are evil from the beginning and recently this accusation about killing their families has come out. What does it mean exactly Sailor Mars? Will the Sacred Fire explain it all to you?"  
Sailor Moon glared down at Catzi. "It's all a big put on job to cover up their wicked intentions."  
"Well now let me see what I can find out from the fire." It wasn't very often that Raye consulted the oracle while in her Sailor Mars identity, but she knelt down and implored earnestly. "Please Sacred Flame. Show me the truth about this clan member's violent words."

As she knelt in prayer for about ten seconds she jerked her head back with a sudden gasp, her eyes bulging wide. "This is incredible," she said, "but the oracle tells me it is not a cover at all. SHE REALLY BELIEVES EVERY WORD OF IT!"  
"WHAT?" Everybody else gasped in shock but Sailor Mars was already kneeling in prayer again.  
"Please show me exactly what the truth is Flame. Why does she believe these things and what really happened?"  
As the Sacred Fire revealed things to her mind Sailor Mars was overwhelmed with what she saw.  
"Sailor Moon," she said solemnly. "We need to prove to her that what she's been told is a lie. I have an idea. If I prepare my fireballs charge in a special way so that it will allow her to see the things that I have seen in her mind and you combine it with the healing power of your crystal it may overcome the brainwashing hold exerted upon her."  
"I don't know. I've never used my crystal in such a way before."  
But Artemis spoke up. "I say go for it. There's nothing to lose and we are obligated to try our very best to liberate her if what Mars says is true. And I have faith to believe it is so."  
"Okay then. Let's try it Mars."

So while Catzi fumed and gnashed her teeth, Sailor Mars prepared her charm. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
As she threw it onto Catzi's face she yelled out in protest, but Sailor Moon had her locket in her hand with the crystal inside. "MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
As the combined magic washed over Catzi, she gasped and began to give exclamations. "What's this? It cannot be! Oh no! How awful! Horrible! Mother! Father! Nooooo!"  
She began to cry. "It wasn't the Queen of Crystal Tokyo! We've been misled! Duped!"  
"Untie her girls," ordered Luna and they quickly did so.

Catzi sat up and looked into Sailor Moon's eyes with a tear stained face. "Sailor Moon. I see now how very wrong I've been. All of us have been sincerely wrong. We grew up believing you were the ones who killed all of our families. I know the truth of the matter now."  
Then she began to cry with unconsolable sobs that shook her shoulders. "If only poor Rhonda was here with me. I wish she could have learnt what I've learned before, before," The words died away in violent choking sobs and Sailor Moon, realizing the implications of this began to sob uncontrollably too. "I'm so sorry. If I'd understood. I would never have killed any of you."  
And she knelt down beside Catzi and they threw themselves into each others' arms to weep on their shoulders. The other Sailor Scouts and Luna and Artemis cried too. The three gems sat in their glass case like remains of people who had needlessly and tragically perished, laid to rest in a private mausoleum.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER 11

Ever since Catzi had been healed from the brainwashing she had grown up with, she had been hiding out of sight at the Cherry Hill Temple. The Sailor Scouts had revealed their secret identities to her and she had realized that her life would now be in danger. "None of the others will listen to me. I can't go back to them. I will probably be branded as a traitor to our cause and even my own sisters will call for my execution. I must hide myself. But where?"

Seeing how immensely distressed she was Raye had made the same offer to her that she had given to Jedite, Titus and Dream Dolly when they had defected from Queen Beryl's army. "I'll keep you safe in a spare room here at the temple. You won't need to worry. My magic charms will keep you hidden from everybody else around here. Only we shall know you're living here and I'll make sure you get all your needs met."  
"Oh thank you so much. Please try to liberate my sisters and all the others including Rubeus." Catzi realized now that Rubeus had not been in his right mind when he treated that gift of the bottle of aftershave with such mean contempt. She remembered better days when their relationship had been happy and joyful. It had only started to become tainted when they had come to the past on their twisted mission.  
"I do so solemnly swear that I shall save all the rest of your clan," promised Sailor Moon.  
"We all vow we will and we'll also destroy the real source of evil that was controlling you," echoed all the Sailor Scouts and Catzi was so grateful to them and so relieved to be free and protected.

Thus she stayed hidden for more than a week and the rest of the Black Moon Clan had come to the assumption that she must have perished during her personal solo mission. Birdy had been the most upset about this and cried bitterly. Avery and Prizma were also feeling sad and blue, though they didn't shed any tears and Rubeus did cry a little. He wasn't sorry at all for the way he had upset her over the present she had given to him the last time he had ever seen or spoken to her however. The power exerted over him by the Wiseman had completely clouded his rationality and blinded his perceptions in full by this time. Hypnotica and Thunderclap offered him condolences, but they did not hug him. Birdy's friends, Frosty and Droido knew what would happen if they put their arms around Birdy while she was crying and so did she. So the three of them went off to private quarters. All the same the rest of the team watched them as Birdy walked off sobbing and her friends followed a small distance behind her. They all sensed the others' eyes drilling into their backs and they were hurt and confused.

With the door shut Frosty and Droido were fawning all over Birdy offering her tissues, which she eagerly accepted, blowing her nose and drying her eyes. Then as she was hugged tight by both her friends Droido spoke, "We deeply sympathize with the loss you have sustained Birdy dear."  
"Yes, you can come to us anytime for comfort," added Frosty.  
Birdy hugged them round their shoulders and said gratefully, "Thank you both so much. If, if only my remaining sisters were like you. I can't understand why they won't show proper grief and offer appropriate comfort. None of the others will either. But at least Rubeus did shed a few tears."  
Droido said, "That's right. I remember how much he and Catzi were in love."  
Frosty added, "Even when our relationships began to mysteriously turn less harmonious, they still stayed devoted to each other. Still he was kind of mean and cold to her."  
"Yeah. I think she was actually rather angry with him when she left because of the way he smashed that small bottle of aftershave she'd given him. I have a feeling it was the last straw." Droido said this and Birdy remembered many a time he had said or did things that deeply upset Catzi. She was surprised she had tolerated him for so long. But there was no point in dwelling upon it now.  
"Catzi's gone girls and Rubeus must learn to live without her, just like the rest of us. Let's not keep dredging up the past. It's over now."  
She began to sob once more as she said this and her two friends directed her to sit down on the edge of the bed with them so they could continue to quietly cuddle with her and show their heartfelt care and concern.

Suddenly there was a pounding on the door and Thunderclap's loud, booming voice made them all jump to attention on their feet together.  
"BIRDY! DROIDO! FROSTY! MY FRIENDS AND I WANT YOU ALL TO JOIN US ALONG WITH AVERY AND PRIZMA IN THE MEETING ROOM! AT ONCE!"  
Thunderclap always startled them when she raised her voice like that. It shocked even Birdy out of her grief and she stood with knocking knees gritting her teeth.  
"L-l-let's go girls."  
Frosty and Droido were already trembling. They knew better than to keep their commanders waiting. Especially Thunderclap.

Gathered together Rubeus said, "We have a visitor coming for an important briefing."  
As soon as he'd finished speaking the holographic image of the Grim Man appeared holding his customary scythe. The Wiseman was not with him for once. "First of all let me pass on our deepest sympathies from all of us in the future, including the prince. We are sorry to hear that so many have now lost their lives in our cause for justice to be served."  
"Thank you Grim Man." Rubeus was almost tearful again thinking of Catzi and the Grim Man went on to deliver his message.  
"The Wiseman has discovered another Crystal Point."  
They all gasped as Hypnotica said, "Er. But we thought there were only five?"  
"So did we all in the future. However the Wiseman has realized that there is one more that had escaped our attention. It is in this building where next week a Grand Chess Competition is to take place."

A holographic picture of a building designed in the shape of the chess piece known as a rook or a castle appeared over the Grim Man's hooded head.  
"We want Birdy to capture it with the assistance of Droido and Frosty and if the kid shows up, capture her. If the Sailor Scouts show up, destroy them."  
Birdy and her friends were rather taken aback at being specifically chosen to undertake this sudden assignment. But they were loyally obedient and said they would make plans to infiltrate the event. "If I disguise myself as a human and enter the competition," said Birdy, "my friends can be hidden as audience members ready to help me when I need them."  
The Grim Man said, "Sounds like an excellent plan. I will leave you now to ready yourselves. Good luck."  
Rubeus and the others all thanked the Grim Man as he departed taking the picture of the building with him.

Birdy said to the gathering, "I'd like to discuss plans with my friends in privacy please."  
"Very well. But when you all decide on your full course of action then let us know immediately," said Rubeus.  
Even Avery and Prizma were respectful as the trio departed. Though they still half-frowned indignantly since they had always guessed that they cuddled each other when they were alone.

But Birdy wasn't worried about that. As they were walking to their room she was remembering scenes from long ago.  
She was only a little girl of six years old and her two friends were also the same age as her. Back then they were not known as Droido and Frosty. Their names had been Rebecca and Julie and they had been ordinary little human girls. Except that they had sported the mark of the upside-down dark crescent moon on their foreheads, like all the other clan members including their best friend Birdy.  
One day they had been playing together on a distant asteroid. The three of them were holding hands and running in a circle, singing together. "Ring, a-ring, a-rosies. A pocket full of posies. A-choo! A-choo! We all fall down."  
Thus they had all fallen down on their backs, laughing joyfully. But next thing they'd known, Birdy's big sister Catzi had been standing over them looking down. As they curiously looked up at her, she had said, "Pardon me Birdy. The Wiseman and the Grim Man have selected your playmates to be given special, unique powers."

Birdy remembered very well what had taken place. She and her friends had gone with Catzi trustingly to see their mentors and guardians who were looking after them all. A boy of about eleven years old stood next to the Wiseman and the Grim Man. The Wiseman had spoken. "We have enlisted Sapphire here with the privelege of helping us equip most of the girls to become what we will call the Droid Warrior Forces. Rebecca, please step forward to Sapphire."  
Rebecca obediently approached and the boy called Sapphire took a large, red gem that the Wiseman handed to him. He pressed it firmly against the Dark Moon symbol on Rebecca's forehead. It seemed to sink into her forehead, the mark appeared in the middle of the jewel, her skin turned pale-blue and her hair grew long and blue-green.  
The Grim Man said, "You are the first of our Droids. In recognition from now on your name will be Droido."

Next Sapphire placed a round, metallic hat on her head with a long tube and a hollow ball dangling down to her waist. He said to her, "This resembles a perfume dispenser. Your powers will be centered around a make-up theme. This is your most powerful weapon."  
He directed her attention to a tall tree. "Open your eyes and mouth as wide as you possibly can and squeeze the ball pump. Just do it and see what happens."  
Droido tried her best, though she faltered a little. Her fingers struggled to grip the pump, but she did manage to squirt some acidic liquid out of her mouth. The small jet hit a branch of the tree and ate it away, making it snap off and fall to the ground. Droido was astonished and Sapphire urged her to keep practicing.

Next Julie was called forward and the Wiseman gave Sapphire a silver headress with a blue gem set in the center. As he placed it on Julie's head, her mark disappeared and reappeared inside the gem. Her skin turned the purest bright white and her hair blue. She immediately felt her temperature drop below freezing, but somehow she didn't mind.  
Sapphire said to her, "Now you take a deep breath and exhale towards that same tree."  
She blew as hard as she could and feeble it was. But all the same she saw that her breath had frozen the leaves at the end of two branches solid. She was awestruck and the Wiseman said, "You see what your power is? You shall be appropriately known as Frosty. We expect you and Droido to both practice hard each day to master your attacks. One day you will use them to fight against the people who brutally murdered your families."

Birdy remembered how proud and excited she had felt about her friends then and as she entered the room she began to cry again remembering Catzi and also thinking about what could happen to her friends as well.  
"Birdy."  
"Are you all right?"  
Turning to her friends with tears she hugged them both. "Frosty. Droido. Please promise me to stay hidden disguised in the audience until I take care of Sailor Moon when she inevitably turns up. I love you both so very much and if you are killed I will surely die of grief. Losing Catzi has been bad enough."  
They hugged her back and answered in turn.  
"Of course. We understand."  
"But how will you defeat her? We don't want to lose you either."  
"I'm thinking of an idea that I'm sure will work. It will hopelessly trap her and the other Sailor Scouts too. They won't be able to attack us and they'll be at our mercy instead. Listen and I'll explain."  
Then she whispered close to their ears as her tears dried with the eager excitement of her plan.

But what none of the members of the clan knew was that they were being progressively set up. There really was no extra Crystal Point and the prince and their allies in Crystal Tokyo did not know that the Grim Man had been to deliver this message to them in the past. He and the Wiseman had their own secret agenda and the Black Moon Clan were all their pawns to suit their purpose and be discarded one by one when they were no longer needed. They fully trusted them and believed they had rescued them from dying at the hands of the forces of the queen of Crystal Tokyo. But, as Catzi now knew, they were the real enemy. She had been able to escape the deadly spider web with her life. Three of the Droids had already died. Could the Sailor Scouts succeed in saving those who were left?

Meanwhile Serena and her friends were very excited because Amy had decided to enter the Chess Competition. But even though her friends all told her they were confident she would surely win she was very modest and told them with a blushing smile, "Well I can't promise anything. But I'll do my very best."  
She did know she was exceptionally good at the game among her other brainy talents, but she still liked to keep an open mind that somewhere, somebody may be a match even for her. However she did have something to be very excited about herself, because her long-distance boyfriend Greg was making a special trip to watch her compete. They hadn't seen each other in person since the final climactic battle against the alien invasion force who had been keeping that unusual tree hidden in an apartment complex, although they were still chatting regularly through Skype. They were both looking forward to spending time together and Amy's parents had prepared the guest bedroom so that he could stay with them.  
The other girls were looking forward to seeing Greg also. Serena was secretly hoping that Greg would let her know whether Amy would become the champion or not.

Amy was also old friends with the elderly gentleman who had spent a fortune on building the unique structure where the competition would be held. He dearly loved chess and he was very rich, so he could easily afford to pay for the construction. Not only was the main building in the shape of a rook. The outer area's gardens were dotted with figures of knights, bishops, pawns and other chess pieces. He built it all for the city's official Chess Club of which he was a long time member. Before that they had never had a meeting place of their own and had hired venues or gone to members' houses for their meetings. To show their gratitude they had elected him Club President for twenty consecutive years. Now he had voluntarily stepped down but he was still an actively involved member and had assisted in financing and advertising the competition that was open to the general public as well as the members who wanted to participate.

As it so happened when he realized that Amy had put her name down as a contestant, he had called her up on the telephone and invited her to come to the building that afternoon for a warm up game and a bit of a chat. Amy was delighted to accept and so they sat at a chessboard table and talked about old times while they thought about and executed their strategical moves.  
"I used to play chess all the time with your grandfather when you were a very little girl Amy."  
"Yes I remember how much Grandfather spoke of you to the family. He held you in the highest regard."  
The man laughed and went on to add, "I had great respect for him too. And admiration for his playing skills. He was my toughest challenger ever. I only ever beat him on average once in every five games. He was so very good."  
Amy smiled with pride to be reminded of this but her friend next said something that took her by surprise. "Amy. I've noticed something different about you."  
"Oh really?" She looked at his face with some trepidation but relaxed as he explained what he meant.  
"There was a time when all you seemed to care or think about was playing chess. I sometimes thought it was because you longed for the company of the people you played with."  
Amy smiled and said, "Oh well. You see, I've made some real friends now. They're going to come and watch me in the competition next week."  
"That's good. I'm very pleased for you. Chess is very enjoyable, but everybody needs true friends."  
"Yes. They mean a lot to me." Amy made her final move. "I think it looks like checkmate."  
"I believe you're right Amy. It is clear to me that you have inherited your grandfather's talents. I wouldn't be surprised if you get a very high score in the competition at least. You'll make me very proud of you if you do in fact succeed in winning overall."  
Amy blushed. "Thank you sir. You're very kind."

Just then Amy looked up and behind the old man she saw three familiar figures creeping along past a doorless entry to a long corridor. The building was actually closed, but Amy's friend had invited her to join him after opening hours finished for a private game with nobody else around. So Birdy, Droido and Frosty hadn't even bothered to look before they went past, because they thought the place was deserted. They weren't even dressed or ready to do battle. Birdy's friends were in their human forms and she was wearing civilian clothes.  
Amy had skillfully refrained from showing any facial reaction to seeing them and said, "Would you mind if I take a good look around this building by myself please sir? Before I go?"  
"Of course Amy. I know I can trust you. When you're ready to leave just come back to me right here and I'll take you home. I'll have a little practice by myself while I wait."  
"Thank you sir."

Amy went walking slowly down the corridor keeping an eye and ear out for the three women. What were they doing here? And now that she and the others knew they were really innocent victims how could they stop them without harming them?

As she was making her way she thought, "This corridor is leading me towards a huge pair of double doors and they're open. They must have gone inside there. There's no other place this direction leads to."  
Amy pulled out her communicator and speaking as quietly as possible she called Serena. "Amy. What's up?" asked Serena.  
Amy shushed her. "Not so loud Serena. I'm at the Chess Club building and I've noticed some of those Black Moon Clan people sneaking around. I want you to get Lita and come here straight away as Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter. My friend Mr. Drakeson is sitting nearby the front door. Knock and call out to get his attention and when he lets you in, tell him you need to investigate an intruder report."  
"Right Amy. Be very careful."  
"I will." Putting her communicator away Amy tiptoed very slowly towards the opening and peering in she saw that this was the entrance to the main hall where the competition was to be held. It was set up like a theater with rows of seating for the audience to sit in front of a huge stage in the center. And Amy saw Birdy and the others standing in a big circular formation back to back with their hands raised gesturing magically. They were trying to prepare what they had been led to believe was a new Crystal Point by the Wiseman and Grim Man.

Amy tried to desperately bluff and stall for time before her friends arrived. "Hey! Excuse me. What are the three of you doing here?"  
At the sound of her voice Birdy, Droido and Frosty all turned in surprise. Amy casually approached them slowly still speaking. "This place is closed. You shouldn't be trespassing here."  
Droido said, "What'll we do? This is very awkward."  
But Birdy stepped forward with one hand raised and said, "No need for panic girls. I'll just do a quick memory erase on her and then we can finish our preparations and leave. She'll never remember a thing."  
Amy realized she could not allow her memory to be tampered with. She didn't like it. But she had no choice. "MERCURY POWER!"

To the amazement of the three women she transformed right before their eyes.  
"It's Sailor Mercury!" gasped Frosty.  
"Well, this changes everything," said Birdy. "Quickly transform yourselves my friends and together we'll destroy her before any of the other Sailor Scouts show up."  
Sailor Mercury was in an awkward situation herself now. "No wait! You're mistaken about me and my friends!"  
But even as she spoke she knew they wouldn't listen to her. If only Sailor Moon and Sailor Jupiter would get there in a hurry.

Frosty and Droido both transformed and stepped forward on Birdy's left and right sides and as they both unleashed their projectile attacks from their mouths, Sailor Mercury desperately shouted her counter-attack.  
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" As she gestured with her arms spinning round once, her ice storm flew straight at her opponents. However because she had no desire to hurt them, she was only aiming at their attacks. Droido's acidic jet spray was frozen in mid-air and disintegrated into fine powder on the floor. As for Frosty's icy breath it was hit square on by the ice storm blast which disspelled it and broke it apart as Mercury's winds spun round and round like a mini cyclone. Frosty and Droido stepped backwards in fright not realizing that they had never been targeted by Sailor Mercury and Birdy, furiously assuming that her friends had come close to being injured, raised her hand and screamed, "I'll kill you myself before you get another crack at my friends!"

Sailor Mercury gasped in terror as she saw the power emanating from Birdy's outstretched hand. She had no time to make another attack. All she could hope for was to jump out of the way. But then she realized that the other two would then attack her once again. It looked very bleak indeed.

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Salvation came in the proverbial nick of time as Sailor Jupiter sent one of her small lightning bolts flying to strike Birdy's hand before she could shoot Sailor Mercury.  
"Aaaaarrggghh!" She screamed and Droido and Frosty were shocked and upset.

But then Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon leaped inside the room to stand alongside their comrade and the trio of Black Moon ladies were terrified. Especially of Sailor Moon.  
"We're not ready for battle!" Droido shouted.  
"She will kill us!" Frosty yelled.  
Birdy was nursing her injured hand but her eyes were also bulging with fear. "Hurry girls. Let's get out of here!"  
Of course Sailor Moon had no intention of killing them now that she knew the truth, but as far as they were concerned she was their enemy, a highly dangerous, merciless killer.

As they all dematerialized Sailor Moon and her friends watched with sympathetic expressions on their faces.  
"This could make things difficult for me," said Sailor Mercury.  
"What do you mean?" asked Sailor Moon.  
She and Sailor Jupiter gasped as she turned to them and explained. "They saw me transform into Sailor Mercury. I had no choice really. But now they know my civilian appearance even if they don't know the name of my identity."  
"We'll have to be very careful then," said Sailor Jupiter, "but now turn back into Amy so we can return with you to Mr. Drakeson and tell him that we found you safe and sound and that the intruder alert proved to be unfounded."  
Amy quickly complied and her friend was very thankful to hear from her and the two Sailor Scouts that there had been nothing to worry about at all. Then he let them out and locking up drove Amy home while Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Moon went back to their own homes and silently sneaked into their bedrooms before changing identities and going to bed thinking about what their next move as a team should be and how to protect Amy.

Meanwhile back at the spaceship Birdy's hand was being seen to by her friends. Frosty gingerly and painstakingly removed her glove as gently as possible while Birdy moaned in pain. "OW! It really hurts!"  
"Easy Birdy," said Frosty. "Here now."  
She finally slipped it off her fingertips and the three of them could see the reddish mark where Sailor Jupiter's thunderclap zap had burned her.  
Droido handed the soothing cream from the first-aid kit and remarked, "Thank goodness she only hit your hand Birdy. It may be very painful but if she'd hit your main body it would have thrown you to the ground and hurt you much worse."

As her friends tended to her injury, Avery and Prizma entered the room without even knocking. They immediately began teasing her.  
"Aw. Birdy had her wing clipped?"  
"Baby feeling ow-ee?"  
The fact that they were laughing as they said this made it clear that they were mock sympathetic and Birdy's eyes began to fill with tears at their unbelievable callousness.  
Droido and Frosty were really angry.  
"You've both been rather mean to poor Birdy before, but this is over the top. She's been hurt and she may have lost her life to the Sailor Scouts just like our allies including your other sister Catzi!"  
"Yeah and furthermore you were hurt even more badly than Birdy by that Sailor Jupiter once. Why don't you show some genuine care and concern for her, after what you suffered?"

Avery and Prizma did well remember that. Their stomachs had been burned plus landing hard on their backs had put them in excruciating agony for almost two days. Hypnotica had obligingly given them massages to aid their healing and Birdy had deeply sympathized with them. Also the mention of Catzi's name made them begin to feel sorrow mixed with shame. But almost immediately the usual wave passed over their brains and their faces changed back to their heartless, laughing expressions.  
"Now now Frosty and Droido. We are entitled to our own personal opinions. And we really are showing care for our baby sister. Aren't we Prizma?"  
Frosty snapped. "How so?"  
Prizma laughed out loud. "Why, HA-HA-HA! We're giving her incentive to be more careful when she's on her mission at the Chess Competition next week. If she doesn't like us teasing her, then she'd better not come back injured some more. That's fair enough, isn't it Avery?"  
Avery guffawed and said, "Exactly Prizma. We love little Birdy very much."  
Birdy began to cry very bitterly and Droido said coldly, "I think you two have done enough for now. Please leave."  
Avery and Prizma grinned and said, "Okay. We have said our piece. Let's go Ave."  
"I'm with you Priz."  
As they exited still laughing, Frosty and Droido cast them a reproaching look and they cuddled with Birdy and wiped her eyes with some handy tissues and she blew her nose on one. She was deeply hurt by her sisters unkind remarks, but her friends were a source of genuine consolement.

So time went by and the day of the big competition arrived. A big crowd came to watch Amy and everybody else compete. Serena, Raye, Lita and Mina were all present in support of their friend, but Rini had no interest whatsoever in chess and had stayed at home with Mum, Dad and Sammy. She had told Serena, "I'll find something to do today with the rest of the family to keep myself amused. Don't you worry about me."  
Serena had been half concerned about leaving her at home, though she knew she couldn't force her to come. But she appeared to be quite in earnest about spending the day with her parents and little brother and they all smiled and said to go and enjoy the competition. "We'll be spending good quality time with your little cousin Serena," assured Mum.  
You needn't worry about a thing," said Dad.  
Even Sammy asserted the same thing and Rini's eyes had such a sincere look in them that Serena felt she just simply had to believe her. So she said goodbye and waved to Rini and her family and they waved and called out goodbye back as she went off to meet up with her friends.

Well, it is the honest truth that Rini spent the day with the family. But not exactly in the way she claimed. What happened in actuality is that she used her hypnotic powers so that Mum, Dad and even Sammy blindly obeyed her commands to thoroughly search the entire house for any trace of the crystal. Even Serena's room was searched to make absolutely sure though she had no luck. Disappointed Rini had them put everything back in order, even Serena's room. Then they all decided to take a rest thinking they had tired themselves out in the garden playing catch with Rini and her ball. Rini lay on her own bed silently contemplating what her next move should be.

But getting back to the competition, as I've said Serena and Amy's other friends were there. And so was Catzi. They had invited her to go with them for some entertainment and to ensure her safety they had cut her hair back really short and given her a pair of very dark sunglasses as a personal disguise in case any of the other Clan members should recognize her and begin asking awkward questions. Catzi had been very eager to do this and so she was sitting with them in the audience and by coincidence they found themselves all seated next to their friends, Jed, Tweetus and Dorothy. They explained that little Jordan was being looked after by the volunteer staff members of the Chess Club in a baby-sitting room out in the foyer along the side corridor. "This way dear Dorothy is able to have a break from her regular nanny duties and come out with us to share some enjoyment for a change," smiled Jedite.  
"I've really needed to unwind. I'm looking forward to watching this indoor sport championship," said Dorothy.

Greg was also present though he wasn't sitting with any of them. Serena was slightly disappointed that he had refused to divulge whether Amy would be the Grand Winner. "That would spoil the surprise Serena. I just know you would blab to Amy and she would not like to know the outcome of her performance."

Even though Serena had begged and pleaded, promising that she would keep the secret Greg stood his ground and said no. Amy was deeply grateful to him because knowing Serena it would have accidentally slipped out of her mouth, and none of the others really wanted to know the result in advance, let alone Amy herself.  
But Greg had talked to Amy confidentially between the two of them while he was staying at her house. "My visions are telling me something is going to happen during the competition Amy."  
"I have an idea what it may entail Greg," said Amy and when he had told her she gravely nodded her head and the two of them agreed to let the other girls know what to expect. But when they all heard about it even Serena agreed to say nothing to Catzi. They wanted her to enjoy herself freely while things went on normally. When they all needed to make their counter move they had their own plans to be ready.

And Greg was right as usual because just then Birdy was approaching the lady at the ticket counter with her friends. They were all dressed in ordinary attire and Birdy approached the lady first smiling merrily. "Excuse me. Is this where I sign up for the Chess Competition?"  
The lady looked up and replied firmly but politely. "Oh, I'm sorry but it's too late to sign up now. It's about to start and registrations are closed."  
"But I'm sure that I've registered."  
The lady said, "Well what's your name then and I'll look it up in my records."  
"No need to do that."  
Hearing Birdy say such a strange thing she glanced up in surprise and her eyes caught not only Birdy's glance, but Droido and Frosty's as well next to her right and left. As the three of them spoke hypnotically, the lady became all blank and dazed in her expression.  
"You know very well that Birdy is registered," said Droido.  
"Of course she is. Understand?" said Frosty.  
"Oh yes. Yes she is."  
"Good," said Birdy. "And by the way, my friends have both paid for their tickets. That's right isn't it?"  
"Yes they've paid."  
They were all so very pleased and when the lady snapped out of it she was completely fooled. "You go straight through that small door off to the side to join the other contestants on stage. Your friends can go inside the main auditorium doors and choose themselves seats. Good luck and have fun."  
The trio thanked her and winked at each other as they went their own ways.

As the competition was beginning everybody sat at different tables on the stage playing together. Amy's friend Mr. Drakeson had the honour of being the host and he kept things entertaining for the audience by walking around the stage from table to table and offering a few comments on how each game was progressing. Whenever a game was finished the winner was instructed to raise his or her hand and declare loudly "Checkmate!" Mr. Drakeson would then rush over to the players in question, announce who the winner was, shake hands with the loser, thanking them and wishing them a sincere heartfelt goodbye and calling out the name of the next player on his list who hadn't competed yet. That person would then step forward to challenge the victor.

As soon as he announced that Amy was to play her first game, Serena began to get over excited and jumped up out of her seat cheering loudly. "HOORAY! HOORAY FOR AMAY! SHE'S THE WINNER ALL THE WAY!"  
Raye quickly slapped her hand over Serena's mouth from behind and pulled her back down into her chair struggling. "MMMMM-MMMMMM-MMMMMM!"  
Even Catzi, Greg, Jed, Tweetus and Dorothy were blushing and groaning in embarassment as people nearby turned around with disapproving, annoyed looks on their faces.

Mr. Drakeson declared through his microphone. "If there is any further disturbance to the peace of the atmosphere, such offending people will be thrown out by security. Do I make myself clear?"  
Raye whispered in Serena's ear. "Hear that Serena? Unless you want to be kicked out and land on the top of that Meatball-Head of yours you'd better keep your mouth shut when I take my hand off it."  
Mortified Serena nodded. But she sat droopy and dejectedly thinking to herself, "What is the world coming to when you are not even allowed to cheer for your friend and offer encouragement?"

But on the other side of the audience far away Droido and Frosty whispered to each other.  
"What is the world coming to with such people who make disruptions and think nothing of it?"  
"You're so right Droido. Disgraceful hooligans."

As soon as Amy began to play she started eliminating the other contestants whittling down the numbers. Shortly after Amy was called though Mr. Drakeson made another announcement. "Peter Fisher has just won his fourth game at this table. Peter is doing very well considering he has only been studying chess for three weeks. As some of you should know Peter's original forte' is a wonderful talent in photography. But he decided to explore other interests to discover what other talents he may have hidden deep within himself. And he has found himself to be a very good natural at chess."  
Everybody applauded in response to this and then Mr. Drakeson called forward Peter's next opponent. "Now a lady by the lovely name of Birdy may get her chance in the competition."

Catzi and the others were all sitting up at the highest level in the audience. They were just about at the top and the stage was so far away that Catzi couldn't clearly see the people on it. Even without her dark sunglasses she would never have recognized Birdy in the distance. But when she heard the name she said nothing though her mind was turning. "Birdy? That name? It couldn't be my sister! Could it?"  
Birdy meanwhile was plying her mind control powers to ensure she won.  
"Oh dear," said Mr. Drakeson. "Peter's lucky streak has run out now that I'm finished speaking. But you did very well Peter. Keep practicing and you'll get better and better."  
"Thank you Mr. Drakeson," said Peter as he shook hands and walked off backstage.

Birdy then proceeded to defeat all her opponents and so did Amy. Except that in Amy's case she wasn't using psychic mind control. Amy would never openly admit it, but she did come very close to losing a couple of times to some very good challengers. Even she wasn't invincible when it came to chess. She had been very lucky to figure out the correct counter moves in time. But she would never tell this to her friends. She knew they'd never believe her. Especially Serena. Serena'd burst out laughing and say she was only being modest. She could never lose.

As the number of contestants dwindled, less and less tables were being used, until finally only Amy and Birdy were left.  
Mr. Drakeson announced. "Now we come to the final game. One of these two people will become our champion. Good luck to you both."  
As Birdy and Amy faced each other at the table, Amy held out her hand. "May the best player win."  
She hadn't actually realized who Birdy was, but Birdy recognized her. As they clasped hands, Amy thought, "It feels as cold as ice."  
Birdy sneered. "You're playing on my turf now. Sailor Mercury."

Amy gasped as the realization sank in and everybody else gasped as Birdy suddenly rose into the air and yelled really loud. "The show's over for you folks! Time to have a rest!" Raising her hands and spinning around she sent a magical wave over the entire audience that put them all in a sleep like state of suspended animation. It also permeated the rest of the building so that anybody who was present anywhere was also knocked out. Mr. Drakeson had been speechless but now he too collapsed where he stood on stage holding his microphone in his motionless hand. Frosty and Droido were still in the audience pretending to be affected too, because they had promised Birdy they would not involve themselves until if or when Sailor Moon appeared and was taken care of for their own safety.

Even Jed, Tweetus, Dorothy and Catzi were still and peaceful. But not Greg, Serena, Lita, Mina and Raye. Raye had placed her strongest magical protection upon them and they all ducked down and crawled quietly along the seats gently squeezing past people's legs. It was fortunate they were so very nearly at the top of the rows so they could easily slip out unnoticed while Birdy said to Amy, "I've seen to it that none of those people will get hurt by interfering with our conflict Sailor Mercury. Yes I know who you are."  
"So do you want me to transform and fight?" asked Amy steeling her nerve.  
But Birdy smiled and said, "Actually I really do want to play a game of chess with you. I don't wish to fight today. I came here to play chess and that's what we're going to do."

At this moment Serena and the others were asking Greg what they should do. Greg hesitated and said, "Just transform and charge back in there beside Amy. I've seen the future. It will be okay."  
"Right Greg," said Serena trustingly. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
"MARS POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"VENUS POWER!"  
They all transformed and with a united shout of "SCOUT POWER!" they left Greg behind who sighed and bowed his head.

Bursting through the open doorway they all jumped into the air and landed on the stage where Amy was sitting. Sailor Moon said to Birdy, "Listen to us. We have something very important to tell you."  
Sailor Mars had one of her charms ready on hand with the same special magic that she had used to help Sailor Moon undo Catzi's brainwashing. But Birdy was ready with her own magic and at a gesture Sailor Moon found herself trapped and suspended in an enormous crystal bubble along with Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus.  
Amy was horrified but Frosty and Droido immediately appeared on the stage by Birdy's left and right in their Droid forms.  
"Hooray! Your trap worked Birdy!" cheered Droido.  
"Yes. That bubble will hold them all. They cannot attack us. Especially not Sailor Moon thank goodness," said Birdy. Then she turned to Amy.  
"Now about our chess game Sailor Mercury?"  
Amy said with resignation, "Very well. I'll play with you."  
The other Scouts were indeed trapped. Sailor Moon was furious and she cried, "That Greg and his visions. He said things would be all right."  
Out in the foyer Greg said to himself, "I'm sorry girls. But the final outcome really will be all right."

As Amy and Birdy began to play while Frosty and Droido watched excitedly another strange thing began to happen. As soon Birdy captured one of Amy's pawns, her friends inside the crystal bubble shouted, "Hey! It's getting cold in here!"  
Amy looked up and gasped. "What's happening?"  
Birdy smiled and her friends laughed as she said, "Oh sorry. I forgot to mention one of my own rules that we're playing by is that every time you lose a piece the temperature inside that bubble drops by ten degrees. Carry on playing Sailor Mercury."  
Amy gritted her teeth and made her move capturing one of Birdy's pawns. But her friends had another thing to worry about.  
Sailor Moon yelled, "I swear the bubble has just become slightly smaller!"  
Amy gasped again and before she could say a word Birdy explained. "Oh yes. Another thing. Every time I lose a piece the size of the bubble decreases by ten inches."

Sailor Mars was angry. "You can't do this to us. MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" Her attack failed to break the prison that held them however and she and the others all had to duck down to the bottom to avoid the rings of fire as they bounced back and forth above their heads before disipating in the magical frigid atmosphere.  
"YEOW! You want to roast us like pot roast in an oven?" exclaimed Sailor Moon in exasperation.  
Amy was thinking about this. "So while we play one way or the other things get worse for my friends."  
"Exactly Sailor Mercury."  
"What will happen if you checkmate me?"  
"Well if that happens then the temperature will immediately drop to under a hundred thousand below freezing and turn them into fossilized icicles."  
Amy gritted her teeth as she realized the implications of what the opposite outcome would be. "But if I checkmate you then I suppose the bubble will instantaneously shrink down to a teeny weeny microscopic dot with them compacted to pulp inside."  
Frosty and Droido laughed again as Birdy said, "Precisely."  
"It's a heads I win, tails you lose outcome," Amy wailed but the three women facing her only grinned maliciously.  
Birdy said, "We think it fitting justice for the murder of our beloved families."  
Amy took the trio aback by suddenly bursting into tears. "But we didn't murder your families! It's all been a big mistake!"  
Birdy was so astounded that she jumped out of her chair. "I beg your pardon? You are guilty. Don't put on crocodile tears to try and deny it."  
Droido pointed her finger at her and said, "Yeah. You murdered Jellax and Avocado."  
Frosty also vehemently pointed her finger. "And you've attempted to murder us."  
Birdy's eyes blazed like balls of fire. "And what about Rhonda? And my sister Catzi?"  
The Sailor Scouts shouted down from their bubble prison. "Please listen to us. We can explain."  
Sailor Moon herself said, "I admit I killed three of you wrongly believing that you were evil. But Catzi is still alive. She knows that we've all been wrong about each other now."  
Birdy stamped her foot. "Enough of these lies! Sailor Mercury. You can either continue our game to one of its two possible inevitable conclusions. Or you can refuse. I don't care because in any case you'll never get them out of that bubble and they'll eventually run out of air and suffocate."

Amy knew what she needed to do. Greg had privately told her that she only had to keep playing and things would fall into place. "Let's play on," she said.  
"All right then." Birdy sat down and they continued to play while Amy's friends struggled with the cold and the cramped space.

After a while Birdy and her friends had a surprise when Avery and Prizma suddenly materialized behind them and spoke. "Nice job you're doing Birdy."  
"We admit that we're impressed."  
Frosty and Droido jumped in fright and Birdy drew a sharp intake of breath.  
"What are you two doing here?" demanded Droido.  
"Now now. No need for resentment. We only want Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica to know we had some part to play in the victory," said Avery.  
"We're here to help and support you in any way we can," added Prizma.  
Droido and Frosty gave the two sisters stern looks that clearly said, "Sure you are," but Birdy said it was okay if that's what they really wanted and directed her focus back to the chessboard.

"It looks like I have you in check," she said to Amy, when suddenly a rose stuck into the board just next to her hand startling her. She and the others all looked up to see Tuxedo Mask slowly descending lightly to the stagefloor. He declared, "Game's been cancelled. I have you in check now."  
Birdy rose from her chair scowling at him. "You think you've won, but not even you can break the crystal bubble."  
But all of a sudden the bubble completely dissolved into thin air and the four trapped Sailor Scouts fell to the floor. Three of them landed agilely upright on their feet, but Sailor Moon landed on her backside. "YEOW! That hurts!"  
"NOOOOO!" Birdy screamed and moving very fast stood in front of Frosty and Droido, who cowered in terror behind her. Birdy appealed to her sisters. "Avery. Prizma. Can you please help me protect my friends from Sailor Moon? Please, please. Don't let them die."  
Frosty and Droido peered around from behind her back like scared rabbits and also begged. "Yes please save me. I want to live."  
"So do I."

Avery and Prizma were at first looking sympathetic for a fraction of a second. But then something changed in their eyes. They momentarily smiled sneeringly and they spoke silkily.  
"Oh we'll protect them all right."  
"Frosty. Droido. Come back to headquarters with us right now."  
The two Droids ran over to the two sisters thanking them profusely. Birdy smiling gratefully made move to join them, but suddenly Avery spoke coldly.  
"Wait a minute Birdy. The Droids are coming back with us. You're staying here to fend for yourself."  
"What?" Birdy gasped and Frosty and Droido's eyes bulged.  
"That's right," said Prizma.  
"But why?" wailed Birdy.  
Avery answered. "Because you are a disgraceful failure that's why. Your trap for the Sailor Scouts didn't work. You are obligated to fight them by yourself now. It's the only way you can redeem yourself."  
"B-but I might be k-k-killed just like Catzi was."  
Avery and Prizma were really cold as they snapped at her. "If you must die, then die. We're not responsible for your failure. None of us are."  
"Your mistake. Your responsibility."  
"The rest of us are out of here. Come on. Let's go."

But Droido and Frosty were running back to Birdy's side and hugged her together as she began to cry.  
"What are you two doing? We gave you a command to return with us. We are superior to you Droids."  
"Leave our sister and return with us at once."  
"No!" Droido declared.  
"We will stay with our best friend," Frosty adamantly asserted.  
Avery and Prizma became very incensed.  
"Fine then. We're leaving you too."  
"Hope Sailor Moon destroys you insubordinate Droid Warriors."  
With that they were gone leaving Birdy and her Droid friends in the midst of Amy, the Sailor Scouts and a somewhat confused Tuxedo Mask who was unsure about what was going on. He had never been told about Catzi's healing and couldn't understand why the girls were not making any move.

Birdy was weeping very bitterly. "Th-thank you both so very much. Y-you chose stay with m-me. Even though it will probably mean your," she sobbed deeply as she struggled over the last word, "d-d-d-death!"  
"We had to stay Birdy," said Droido as they all embraced.  
"We love you," said Frosty.  
Then Droido began to cry as well. "And I love you too Frosty!"  
"I love you Droido!" Frosty literally wailed as she said this and then the three women all hugged each other as close as close could be and shed immense tears with caterwauling sobs and moans while the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask all watched waiting to see what would happen next.

Finally the crying subsided and Birdy softly said, "We all love each other very much."  
"We're best friends," said Droido.  
"And we'll stick together until the very end," said Frosty.  
Sailor Moon had been hoping they were going to turn docile so they could easily heal them, however just then they all broke apart and took up fighting stances.  
Droido prepared to squeeze her dispenser. "We will fight together to the very end!"  
Frosty was also ready to attack. "We will either all survive or die!"  
Birdy declared boldly, "And if even one of us is killed, the others will commit suicide rather than live without her!"  
"AGREED!" Droido and Frosty shouted together.  
"Sailor Scouts! You must fight them!" shouted Tuxedo Mask. But how could they fight knowing they were brainwashed victims? Yet they were certainly about to attack with intent to kill. They were only seconds away from a horrible and tragic conflict.

Suddenly a voice yelled out, "Wait Birdy! It's me, Catzi! I'm alive!"  
Birdy was taken aback and cried, "Huh? Catzi alive?"  
Droido and Frosty were also frozen in stunned amazement and as Birdy looked up towards the top rows of seatings in the audience where the voice had come from she saw a woman with hair cut really short standing up with a pair of sunglasses in her hand and a teenage boy standing next to her.  
"Catzi! Is that really you?" As Birdy called out in wonder, her friends had their attention drawn in the same direction.  
"Sailor Mars! This is your chance!" said Sailor Jupiter and Mars concentrated hard with three of her charms.  
"I CALL UPON THE POWER OF MARS! FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
She sent them flying with perfect precision and Birdy, Frosty and Droido were all hit on the sides of their faces. "DO IT SAILOR MOON!" She shouted and Sailor Moon made her move at once.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
Birdy, Frosty and Droido were overwhelmed by the things that were revealed to them.  
"Oh my goodness!"  
"Is that what really happened?"  
"It's really horrible!"

Then the jewel suddenly fell out of Droido's forehead, the perfume dispenser fell off her head and her skin and hair regained their normal colour. Likewise the jewel came loose from Frosty's headpiece and as she removed it from her head she regained a normal appearance. Next thing their strange clothing vanished including the perfume dispenser. Even the jewels faded away completely. They were no longer Droids. They were human once again and they stood next to Birdy in normal attire. She too was dressed normally.  
Catzi was running down the aisle to the stage, arms outstretched. The boy, who was Greg of course, was slowly walking behind.  
"Oh Birdy! I'm so very sorry for the way I mistreated you and your two friends. Even though I was out of my mind I'm sorry!"  
Birdy and her friends were speechless with what they now knew, but they all hugged Catzi when she ran onto the stage. They were so joyful that she was alive with them, though shocked deeply at the same time.

Tuxedo Mask finally had it all explained to him. He said, "This is unbelievable. It changes everything. I shall do all I can to punish the genuine guilty party and liberate all the other victims.  
Greg also said, "I knew things would turn out just like in my vision. While they were progressing I crawled quietly up to Catzi on my hands and knees, and using a new psychic gift I've been working to develop, woke her out of her enchanted trance with just a touch on her foot. I also told her it was her sister Birdy about to attack her friends on the stage and she needed to get her attention so she could be set free, just as she had been."  
"So we were going to be all right in the end," said Sailor Venus.  
"We all owe you a debt of thanks Greg," said Sailor Mars.  
"Yeah. Sorry I misjudged you," said Sailor Moon.  
"That's all right," smiled Greg.

Birdy, Frosty and Droido were all very shook up however. What was to be done? Then Sailor Mars had an idea. "Greg. Can you please awaken Jed, Tweetus and Dorothy?"  
"Okay," said Greg and in no time they were awake and the Sailor Scouts explained what the problem was.  
Sailor Mars said, "If it would be no trouble can you take these poor people to your home for now, until we can transfer them to the Cherry Hill Temple after night falls?"  
"We can do that. No problem," said Jed.

So while Dorothy quickly retrieved Jordan safely with Greg's assistance, Jed and Tweetus explained to the three distressed women that they were the extra-terresrial couple they had once held prisoner at the ice cream parlour.  
"But no need to feel upset. We realize you meant us no harm and true, you never really harmed us. You can trust us. We will help you."  
"Oh thank you. Thank you," said Birdy and her friends and as they allowed Jed and Tweetus to embrace them, Catzi promised she would be waiting for them back at the temple. Then Jed and Tweetus teleported away with them and Dorothy teleported holding Jordan. Tuxedo Mask said farewell, after giving his darling Sailor Moon a huge hug and kiss, to her immense joy.

Finally the Sailor Scouts, except for Amy, who had never had a chance to transform, all combined their mental concentration to awaken Mr. Drakeson and everybody else and make them forget about the presence of Birdy at all.  
As they all awoke, in the twinkling of an eye they all leapt back up to their seats next to Greg and Catzi in their civilian identities.  
Mr. Drakeson handed Amy the trophy announcing, "Congratulations Amy. You are our Grand Chess Champion." The audience all cheered unaware of what had taken place while they were knocked out.


	12. Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12

Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were all beginning to become very nervous. Avery and Prizma had returned and reported to them that Birdy, Frosty and Droido had lost their lives fighting the Sailor Scouts. They had been very shocked to hear this, though they didn't know it wasn't really the truth.  
It was probably true as far as Avery and Prizma knew, but their consciences struggled with the sinister influence exerted upon them. Ultimately it won them over. At the same time the anguished looks on their faces served to make Rubeus and his friends believe that they really had seen the Scouts kill the others personally.  
"This is terrible. We're dropping like flies," said Hypnotica.  
"I admit that I'm worried," said Rubeus, holding his forehead in one of his hands.

Suddenly the Wiseman's holographic image appeared in their midst and they snapped instantly to attention. "Wiseman! What can we do for you?" asked Rubeus.  
"I need to tell you something very important," declared the Wiseman. "The Grim Man is delivering the same message to the prince."  
Thunderclap cried, "Oh great Wiseman. Please pass on your message to us."  
The Wiseman gestured over his crystal ball which he always carried and said slyly, "I have discovered in my crystal that Birdy, Frosty and Droido have betrayed us all and joined the side of the Sailor Scouts to save themselves. Moreover so has Catzi before them."

Everybody was so shocked and both Prizma and Avery gritted their teeth and silently mused about how they were, after all right in treating them so harshly. They were despicable double crossers.  
But Rubeus exclaimed in genuine astonishment. "How can it be?" Turning to the two remaining sisters he demanded. "You said you saw the Sailor Scouts kill them!"  
Even as Avery and Prizma nervously tried to find a reply while Rubeus and his friends were staring at them, the Wiseman was waving his hands over his crystal ball. With glowing red eyes inside his hood he casually spoke. "No doubt their deaths were staged somehow magically to make Avery and Prizma believe a deception Rubeus."

All the clan members eyes glowed red too and they all fell into agreement with his words. Avery and Prizma were even honestly convinced that it really did happen the way the Wiseman suggested it did, forgetting clean about their actions. "Yes! Yes! Of course that's it Rubeus! Our own sisters forming a treaty with the people who killed the rest of our family!" Avery shouted.  
Prizma snarled and added, "You and I should be ashamed that we're related to them Avery."  
Hypnotica clenched her fists. "And our so-called fellow Droids as well. It makes me furious enough to scream!"  
Thunderclap shouted. "If I were to meet them I'd drum up my biggest lightning charge and zap them out of existence!"  
Rubeus was stamping his feet and waving his arms. "To think I had close affection for that horrible Catzi at one time. We must destroy them. What they have done is unpardonable."  
The Wiseman's voice answered with a sinister silkiness. "Precisely Rubeus. I have a powerful weapon designed for Avery and Prizma to use for the purpose of executing the scoundrels."  
"Oooohh Wiseman. What is it?" asked Avery and Prizma was also bug-eyed with insatiable anticipation.

The Wiseman waved his hands over his crystal ball and a strange wand with a crystal globe on the end containing a jewel similar to the ones each of the Droids sported somewhere on their bodies inside of it materialized into thin air. As he spoke it flew over to the two sisters.  
"This is the Nega-Moon Strobe. The Grim Man and I designed it ourselves. Using it you will be able to track down where those four despicable women are hiding out and capture them. Take them to some place outside of town in seclusion and then you can kill them with the energy blasts that it will generate at your own mental command."  
Prizma reached out and took hold of it. "This is awesome."  
Avery said, "If its power scares you Prizma, let me use it."  
"Nice try Ave," scoffed Prizma. "But I'm older than you. So I'll take charge of it."  
"No you won't!" Avery wrestled Prizma for the strobe but the Wiseman held up his hand and a mystic force broke them apart, Prizma still in possession of it.  
"Now now you two," he chided. "There will be plenty of time for deciding which of you gets to have first go with it after you capture your targets. Remember. Take them to a private area outside the city for execution."  
Avery and Prizma bowed their heads humbly and promised to succeed.  
"My friends and I are counting on you two," said Rubeus.  
"Yes. We command you to work together," said Thunderclap.  
"Remember it's our command," added Hypnotica.

Avery and Prizma felt resentment welling up in them at being commanded by Droids. Normally the Droid Warriors were inferior in rank, but Rubeus had conferred authority upon these two making them equal to his leadership, because they were like his best friends to him.  
But they felt restrained by some psychic harness as the Wiseman's eyes inside his hood glowed brightly.  
"Very well."  
"We will obey."  
"Good," said the Wiseman. His eyes glowed even more intensely as he said, "And after you have captured the traitors, then you can decide between yourselves how to take turns using the strobe."

Meanwhile at the Cherry Hill Temple, Amy and Mina were keeping Catzi, Birdy and the two former Droids company in the room they were secretly hiding out in with the help of Raye's magic. Serena and Lita were helping Raye, Chad and Grandfather sweep up the autumn leaves that were falling in the grounds outside. The other two had managed to get away on the excuse that they wanted to pray together in privacy about personal issues they were concerned about involving the two of them and Grandfather said, "That's not a problem girls. You can take as much time for prayer as you want. The rest of us will keep working in the meantime."  
"Thank you sir," they had replied though Serena, Lita and Raye knew what they were really doing. Their hidden guests badly needed to be able to talk about the things they now knew. It was still such a terrible shock to Birdy and her friends in particular. Droido and Frosty had discarded the names they had been given. They were now going by their original names, Rebecca and Julie.  
"I still can't believe we were all brainwashed like that," moaned Julie.  
"Not to mention the fact that our families all died at the hands of those two creepy men who made us think you were the culprits," added Rebecca with a blank, vacant expression in her eyes.  
Birdy and Catzi were holding each other and crying again. "Oh Catzi. If only our other two sisters understood what we now know!"  
"Yeah Birdy. And my dear Rubeus. I realize he does love me. He's under those evil persons influence."  
"Not to mention the rest of our clan back in the future. And Hypnotica and Thunderclap, or rather as they were originally Connie and Tamara. They have such kind hearts deep down. They all do. Even those three who,"

At this point she broke down in huge sobs and Catzi sobbed too. Rebecca and Julie were weeping gently also.  
Mina said sadly, "We all deeply regret that we killed your other three friends. We'd do anything if it were possible to undo it."  
Amy agreed. "Yes. But we swear we will avenge them and your family members. We will also free the rest of your clan. You can depend on us.  
The four women smiled gratefully through their tears and expressed their heartfelt thanks.

Meanwhile back outside the others had finished raking up all the leaves into piles and Grandfather and Chad had gone to the kitchen to make themselves a cup of tea. Greg and Rini had turned up just as they were finishing their task and so they had said they would allow the girls to have some personal time with their friends.  
"Have a nice chat and thanks for helping us with all the leaves," said Grandfather.  
"You're welcome," said Raye, Serena and Lita together.  
"See you later Raye," said Chad blushing.  
Raye turned a little bit red too and said, "Okay, see ya Chad."  
She felt slightly embarrassed. The truth was she and Chad were secretly beginning to feel deeply attracted to each other, but they had privately agreed between themselves that this was not the time to openly display any of their affection. They were unsure how Grandfather would feel about it personally. For a moment she was worried that Serena might have noticed the colour of their faces and start teasing her.

However Serena's attention was diverted to Rini, who had just plunged her hands into a pile of leaves and tossed them in the air exclaiming happily, "Wheee!"  
"Stop that you little weasel!" Serena was incensed as she gripped her rake tightly. "Do you realize how long it took us to sweep all those leaves up into piles? Touch one more leaf and I'll chase you away with my rake!"  
"Who do you think you are speaking to me like that you bossy old vulture?" said Rini indignantly and Serena was starting to feel very angry.  
"Why you impudent,"  
Raye quickly ran over cutting her off. "Hold on Serena. I was talking to Rini on the telephone before she came here. I gave her my permission to play with the leaves when she arrived as long as she only disturbed one pile."  
Upon hearing this Serena had her turn to blush a little. "Oh. I see Raye." Then she turned back to Rini and began to apologize. "Sorry Rini. No hard feelings I hope?"

But then she noticed that Rini had taken a huge piece of chocolate and was stuffing it into her mouth making exaggerated nom nom nom noises.  
Serena cried out in surprise, "Hey! What are you doing now?"  
Rini's cheeks were stuffed full of chocolate and as she chewed brown spittle dribbled down her chin. Looking at Serena she swallowed, wiped her face with a handkerchief and said, "I was imitating you Serena. You piggy. Oink! Oink!"  
Serena let her rake fall to the ground, clenched her fists and shouted, "That does it! That really does it! Come here and let me give you a piece of my mind!"  
Serena chased Rini who first ran in one direction, then spun around in a circle and headed back in the other. Raye, Lita and Greg just watched with various levels of amusement while Serena chased Rini round and round. Then Amy appeared and she and Greg embraced happily. She had known Greg was coming to the temple around this time. Soon he was going back home by train to his parents after spending a few days as the guest of Amy and her parents following her triumphant participation in the recent Chess Contest. Amy's folks had been so very proud when she and Greg had brought the winner's trophy home. And as they were hugging merrily together Serena started to run out of breath and fell over backwards into another of the leaf piles. Rini, who was not puffed out in the least, turned back to her own pile of leaves and laughed. "There you go Serena. Now you can play with yours and I'll keep playing with mine."

But just then Greg gasped and urgently whispered in Amy's ear. "Amy! I just had another of my premonitions and I am sorry to say this one has been so late in coming that the first part of it IS ALREADY HAPPENING NOW!"  
Amy was shocked, but before she could say anything Mina came running crying out in distress. "Something really bad is happening girls."  
Greg spoke up with authority. "Rini needs to be put somewhere out of danger for her own safety. I can foresee the potential peril she will be in."  
Rini understood all about Greg's prophetic abilities and she was genuinely afraid, thinking it could involve her enemies trying to capture her once more. So she allowed Serena to lead her to a storage room in the temple building. "Stay here until we come back for you," she told her and Rini silently nodded her head, her eyes and mouth wide open with fright.

When Serena joined Greg and the others, Raye asked, "What happened Mina?"  
"I was with Catzi, Birdy, Rebecca and Julie when suddenly a bright light appeared in the room near the roof above us. Before we knew it long cords like tendrils burst forth from the light, wrapped themselves around all four of them and pulled them up. Then with a flash they all disappeared."  
Greg said, "It was their clan members. I know where they've taken them. But you must hurry or they will soon kill them."  
"There's no time to even contact Luna and Artemis. We must transform now," cried Lita.  
They all complied but what none of them knew, except maybe Greg, but he didn't say anything, was that Rini was watching them quietly through the door leading out of the temple. Serena had trustingly and lovingly neglected to even attempt to lock her in and her curiosity had overcome her fear enough to creep out and peek at whatever was going on outside.

She was amazed to see the girls transform.  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
"MARS POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"VENUS POWER!"  
But what amazed her the most was Serena's transformation.  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Sailor Jupiter picked Greg up onto her back just like an adult giving a child a piggy-back ride. "Okay," she grunted exerting her awesome strength. "Tell us where to run to Greg."  
And so the Sailor Scouts all ran at top speed in the direction Greg indicated.

Rini picked up her ball and contacted her friend. "Hello Small Lady. What is happening?" Her voice buzzed out kindly through the antenna that poked out through the ball.  
"I can hardly believe it. But I've just seen Serena's friends transform. They didn't know I was watching but they're my friends in the future who have always protected me from harm. And get this. Serena, the very girl who I've been staying with, is Sailor Moon. And she has the crystal I've been seeking! I saw her use it to transform!"  
"My, but this must be mind-blowing to you Small Lady. What are you doing now?"  
"I was told by their psychic friend Greg that I'll be in terrible danger if I went with them. They told me to stay hidden in the temple. I secretly watched them through the entrance as they transformed and ran off."  
"You must heed the warning of that psychic Small Lady. Premonitions and prophecies are not to be trifled with. They will take care of the threat against you while you stay out of its way."  
"But what about the crystal?"  
"Well now that you know where it is, you must be wary and watch always for an opportunity to get hold of it when Serena isn't looking. Your mother in the future needs you to bring it back with you so that your world will be set free. Sailor Moon will come to understand here in the past when it's all over."  
"O-okay." Rini trusted and respected her friend and so she signed off with her ball and the antenna retracted inside out of sight. Then she went back to wait in the storage room and to think about ideas to finally get her hands on that desired crystal.

Elsewhere on the outskirts of the city, Avery and Prizma were standing on top of a table-top mountain. Prizma still claimed control over the strobe in her hand, although Avery still resented that. Above their heads, inside a glowing sphere, Catzi, Birdy, Rebecca and Julie were all slumped together on their knees unconscious.  
"This strobe did a perfect job of revealing where they were hiding out, just like the Wiseman told us Avery," said Prizma.  
"Yeah. So are we going to kill them now Prizma?" asked Avery.  
"No not yet. I want them to wake up first."  
"Why do that?"  
"Because I want to hear their explanations and excuses before I kill them. I want to hear them plead for mercy as I savour the kill." Prizma seemed to have become a sadistic monster and her eyes appeared to glow red as she spoke and laughed. This was the most insane like she had ever been since coming to the past on the mission her prince had appointed her with the backing of their so called guardians. Even Avery appeared to be similarly affected. If anything even worse. She wanted to destroy their own sisters and the other two immediately.  
"Ah, there's no sense in waiting like that Prizma. Give me the strobe and I'll blast them into atomic particles." With that she grabbed the strobe and tried to snatch it out of Prizma's grip.  
But Prizma seemed to have increased strength in her maniacal new manner and she pulled it free and swung it at Avery, hitting her on the chin.  
"Ouch! Prizma that hurt!" she yelled but Prizma pointed the strobe threateningly at her.  
"For the last time Avery. I'm in charge of this assignment of ours. If you try anything like that again I'll have no choice but to kill you first."  
Avery actually looked shocked and drastically taken aback. "You'd really kill me as well Prizma?"  
Prizma's eyes were now almost fiery red. The strobe seemed to be a conduit injecting negative influence into Prizma's mind. She practically shouted at Avery. "That's what I'll have no choice to do Avery. So you sit back and shut up while I'm waiting for them to awaken."

As she made this threat and Avery cowered in fright, the four of them did all wake up and began asking where they were and what was going on.  
"The traitors are alert now," Prizma sneered gloatingly.  
"Why are you doing this to us?" cried Rebecca.  
Prizma raised her voice as the bubble slowly lowered to the ground just in front of her. "Because you have betrayed our cause. You've joined sides with our enemies and turned against us."  
"It's not true Prizma!" shouted Catzi.  
"The Sailor Scouts are good!" implored Julie.  
"SILENCE!" Prizma roared in angry passion. "You know very well their future selves took the lives of all our families without pity."  
Birdy pleaded with her sister. "No they didn't Prizma. The Wiseman and the Grim Man killed them."  
Avery was incensed and lividly shouted shaking her fist, "Don't you slander our two guardians like that!"  
But Prizma turned on Avery shouting at her. "I told you I'm in charge of things here Avery! You speak another word out of place and you WILL die immediately!"  
Avery gasped, turned white and stumbled backwards falling over.

Catzi tried to reason, but she and the other three were all equally worried. "Prizma, you'd never have spoken so dreadfully to Avery before now. Don't you remember how happy all of us were while we were growing up?"  
Birdy backed up what Catzi said, "Yes. Rebecca, Julie and I were the only ones who were unaffected since we all came to the past. We noticed how Rubeus, you, Avery, Catzi and the others slowly began to be mean and spiteful in attitude towards us. You even started to form your own duos and trios against each other while we were hurt, upset and confused."  
Julie agreed, "Yes the Wiseman and his crony have been bewitching your minds, turning us against ourselves, toying with us like cats playing with mice before killing them."  
Finally Rebecca added, "This is the worst you've ever been controlled Prizma."  
Prizma was laughing and apparently enjoying their pleas for the time being. However Avery was rather scared where she was lying on her back. As she listened she was thinking seriously about the situation. Her mind seemed to be clear to comprehend things, as if the influence was purposefully removed from her. Could what they were saying actually be true? She was already terrified at Prizma's mad unstableness. It sounded plausible to her now and so she feared greatly for her life and for the lives of the others. The monsters who had led them astray were going to use Prizma to whittle down a small handful of their other pawns in one go. Prizma raised the strobe. "You've said your pathetic excuses now girls. Time for your executions."  
"NO! NO!" The four of them all hugged each other in desperation. Prizma was pointing the strobe at them and any second now she'd concentrate and summon up its destructive power.

But then Sailor Moon's voice shouted down from above. "Hold it right there!"  
As Prizma, Avery and the others trapped in the bubble glanced upwards, the Sailor Scouts came zooming downwards to surround the two enemy sisters in a circle. Greg jumped off of Sailor Jupiter's back when they landed and stayed behind her for protection. Unfortunately Sailor Moon landed on the side of her right foot, overbalanced and with a cry of pain and shock, collapsed in a heap. Her friends were appalled, but they kept control of themselves and addressed Prizma and Avery.  
"You should listen to your sisters and your other friends," said Sailor Mars.  
"Yes, no doubt they've been trying to tell you the truth," said Sailor Mercury.  
"You've been victims of a heinously wicked scheme," began Sailor Jupiter.  
"And we can release you," finished Sailor Venus.  
As Sailor Moon staggered to her feet she added, "In the Name of the Moon, I shall heal you. If you will allow me to, of course."  
"Please listen to them," Julie implored while the others smiled in a pleading hopeful manner.

However Prizma was whipped up into a diabolical frenzy by the strobe in her hands. "ENOUGH! I'll fix you all good Sailor Scouts! Take this!"  
As she pointed the strobe at Sailor Mars, Sailor Venus cried, "Get ready to dodge everybody!" and Sailor Jupiter motioned to Greg to quickly climb onto her back once more. He had, of course, warned them about this, but they had full assurance from his visions that their friends would be safe because Prizma would strive to destroy them first.  
And so she did. As she fired the strobe's power at Sailor Mars, they all gave enormous leaps and there was a black, smoking, scorched hole in the ground where Mars had been standing seconds before.  
Prizma proceeded to maniacally leap and bound around herself, firing at them randomly, sometimes blasting into the air, sometimes blasting the ground. But there was really nowhere to go and nowhere to hide on a flat table top mountain, and poor Avery fell to the ground in terror with her arms over her head cringing and wailing. She was scared that she might be accidentally caught in the crossfire and the four prisoners vainly called out her name and reached out their hands. They were unable to touch her through the bubble of course.

Meanwhile Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were watching events unfold on a monitor screen in their spaceship. "That strobe thing the Wiseman gave us is certainly very powerful indeed," Hypnotica remarked in wonderment.  
Thunderclap was also impressed. "It makes my powers seem like nothing by comparison."  
Rubeus laughed and said, "That Prizma is doing an excellent job. The Sailor Scouts can't keep dodging forever. That young man holding on to one of them must be an ally of theirs. But he'll eventually die as well."  
"And when they die, their future selves in Crystal Tokyo will be wiped out of existence, thus fulfilling our revenge for our families deaths. Isn't that right Rubeus?" Hypnotica asked gleefully.  
"That is precisely what I believe will logically happen Hypnotica," said Rubeus. "If what we've heard about the child's alleged relationship to our enemies from the Wiseman and the Grim Man is true, then we shouldn't need to even worry about trying to capture her. Her own existence will also be terminated."  
"How wonderful," said Thunderclap. "So all that will still be needed to do then is to kill those four miserable traitors. We can count on Prizma to do that. Then at last we will be on our way back to the future in triumph."  
"Exactly my friends. This is wonderful beyond description," finished Rubeus and he and his two best friends all chortled together and kept their eyes glued to the screen eagerly.

Getting back to the Sailor Scouts and Prizma, they were trying to fight back against her. Even with Greg holding onto her back, Sailor Jupiter fired off her Thunderclap Zap Attack, but it was literally absorbed by the strobe and blasted back at her. She only just barely jumped out of the way with Greg slowing her down and even he was trembling though he knew the outcome would be happy.  
Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars tried their attacks one after the other. However Prizma brushed them aside. "You're no match for me while I hold this strobe!" She began to cackle maniacally and then she did get off one blast that knocked all of them, including Greg, stunned to the ground.  
"Waa-haaa-haaa! This is the most fun I've ever had!"  
"Prizma! Please don't hurt them!" Catzi suddenly begged getting her attention.  
Rebecca cried out, "Please! You must listen to us!"  
Birdy said, "We will all be doomed if you don't!"  
Avery meanwhile was shaking and whimpering where she lay. "My own sister hit me in the face! Spoke about killing me! No-nooooo!" She was in a severe state of shock but the final crunch came when she heard what Prizma suddenly shouted out.  
"Come to think of it, all my life I've been forced to share everything four ways. But now thanks to this strobe I can get rid of the competition. I am going to kill all of you."

Avery raised her head and screamed, "No Prizma! Don't!" and the others trapped in the bubble echoed the same desperate pleadings.  
However in her sudden eager desire to do away with her sisters Prizma had forgotten all about the Sailor Scouts, who had all risen to their feet during this brief exchange.  
Greg said to them, "This is the moment Scouts. You must all attack one straight after the other and take her by surprise. Quickly before she zaps the others."  
Just as Prizma was pointing the strobe at Avery and the bubble, Sailor Mercury led the sudden attack.

"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"  
Taken by surprise Prizma found herself enveloped in an icy cold fog and she hugged herself, shivering and shaking and unable to do anything with the strobe she was holding.  
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"  
Sailor Venus' attack struck out like a whip knocking the strobe out of her hand. As it fell to the ground with a clatter the magic bubble surrounding the four prisoners vanished and they all ran to kneel down next to Avery offering her comfort.  
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"  
Finally Prizma succumbed to Sailor Jupiter's mighty attack and she slumped unconscious to the ground amidst victorious cheers.  
"Now's your chance to heal our sisters," cried Catzi.  
"Yes, I'm willing to listen to whatever you have to show me," said Avery crawling forwards on her hands and knees.  
As Prizma feebly groaned attempting to wake up Avery urged them to act. "Quickly do what you must before Prizma gets up."  
"MARS FIREBALLS CHARGE!" Sailor Mars planted a charm on each of their faces and Sailor Moon responded in turn.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
Prizma awoke with a startled jolt as she saw the shocking revelation that Avery was also finally seeing.  
When it was over Prizma was crying, not just for her murdered family, but for the way she had threatened Avery and the others. "It's all right. We understand you were not yourself Prizma. None of us were." They all said similar words like this to her while the Sailor Scouts solemnly watched quietly.

But suddenly other voices broke the silence coming from above.  
"What is going on?"  
Everybody looked up to behold Rubeus, Hypnotica and Thunderclap floating high overhead. Thunderclap was the one who had just spoken first and Hypnotica now followed.  
"We all came as fast as we could to aid you when we saw you were being defeated Prizma. Now what are you and Avery doing acting so friendly with these people who double crossed us?"  
The trio were looking down at the group with expressions that made them all cringe as if they were naughty children caught in the act by grown ups.  
Prizma sobbed imploringly through her tears. "Rubeus. Things are not what you think they are. We've all been deceived by the Wiseman and the Grim Man."  
Catzi pleaded earnestly. "Yes Rubeus my sweetheart. Please let the Sailor Scouts show you what they've shown us. Connie and Tamara, you too."  
Rubeus and his friends were suddenly furious. "You both have joined our enemies also?"  
"This is unthinkable!"  
"We will destroy you all and the Sailor Scouts in one swoop!"

As Sailor Mars was attempting to prepare three more of her charms in the same special way, Rubeus gestured mysteriously at the fallen strobe. "The Wiseman told me something about the strobe after you were gone Prizma."  
While he was speaking a circular hole appeared in the mountain surrounding the strobe and as it fell through a terrible vacuum suction began to build up. Rubeus and his friends were out of its range but all on the ground could feel it begin to drag them inside. And there was nothing to hang onto on the bare flat table top.

"Rubeus! What are you doing to us?" screamed Rebecca.  
Thunderclap answered her frantic question. "Rubeus has tapped into the limbo dimension that the strobe can open up access to. You didn't know Prizma, but anybody can visit this limbo via the strobe."  
Hypnotica laughed and added, "However the strobe also has the power to trap people in limbo forever, if the person seizing control of it summons up the magic force to suck them inside."  
Rubeus himself concluded, "And only the very person who controls the force can stop it. I've let the strobe enter limbo itself, so I can't stop it now even if I wanted to. And none of you will be able to use it to get out. It won't listen to anybody but me. You'll all be trapped for the rest of your lives. HAHAHAHAHA!"

Thunderclap and Hypnotica joined in the insane laughter as they dematerialized along with Rubeus. By now the vacuum was enormous and the four sisters, Rebecca, Julie and all the Sailor Scouts plus Greg were picked up and pulled through the air and into the hole, which had slowly grown to five times its original diameter to ensure they all fitted through. Screaming and shrieking they plunged all the way down, down, down.

Inside the warphole Sailor Moon raised her head and cried, "There's the strobe up above us! What can we do?"  
Before anybody could make any reply a familiar caped and masked figure suddenly appeared in their midst. He had held onto his cane and his mask as he was sucked down the opening, but now he was flailing around trying to reach his top hat.  
"TUXEDO MASK!" shouted Sailor Moon.  
"Can you help us?" asked Sailor Mars as Greg obligingly helped Tuxedo Mask grabbing hold of his hat and kicking with his legs to move towards him.

As Tuxedo Mask took possession of his hat, he told them, "I can't do anything Sailor Scouts. But you can."  
"How?" cried Sailor Moon.  
"Surely our power attacks will not be effective? That strobe is not a live enemy," said Sailor Jupiter.  
"But there is a way Sailor Jupiter," he answered.  
"What? Tell us!" Sailor Moon was desperate to give anything a try.  
Tuxedo Mask explained, "If the five of you all pool your planet's psychic powers, you can overpower that stick and destroy it. Then all of us will be returned to our own dimension."  
Greg suddenly cried out, "It's true. I have seen the future and it looks good for us. Provided you all act right now before we are sent too deep into this realm."  
Sailor Mars shouted, "Come on you girls. Let's all join hands and concentrate."

The six women watched with bated breath alongside Tuxedo Mask and Greg as the Sailor Scouts all twisted, turned and stretched in mid-air in order to clasp hands and form a circle. Then they called out their own planet power one by one and then all shouted together, "SAILOR PLANET POWER!"  
The strobe was bombarded with massive amounts of energy and glowed bright as the sun before shattering to little pieces. With its destruction they were all released and found themselves back on the table top mountain lying on the ground.

As they all rose to their feet Sailor Moon joyfully cried out, "It worked! We're all safe!"  
Tuxedo Mask assisted them in safely getting their friends down off the mountain. The Sailor Scouts took one lady each in their arms and jumped. Tuxedo Mask waited for Sailor Jupiter to jump back up alone. Then he gracefully took the last lady while Sailor Jupiter allowed Greg to climb up on her back again. Then they too jumped.

Rubeus and his buddies were watching this transpire on their monitor screen and they were enraged. "Somehow they escaped from the strobe's power and they rescued Catzi and those other female finks!" Thunderclap snarled wielding the charges that she used for drumsticks against each other tip to tip and they buzzed and flashed with power.  
Hypnotica pulled the dagger out of her head and looked at the blade like she was contemplating what it would look like stained with the blood of all their enemies. "Those wretched Sailor Scouts and those wretched others!"  
Rubeus echoed his own sentiments as he punched the monitor hard making a pattern resembling a spider web appear in it. "We're going to destroy all of them once and for all," he grunted rubbing his knuckles. "As soon as we come up with a foolproof plan we will strike with deadly intent."  
Thunderclap and Hypnotica couldn't agree more. They were practically hyped up with rage and hatred.

In the meantime Avery and Prizma had joined the other refugees at the Cherry Hill Temple. The six of them could barely squeeze into the room they had to share, but Raye promised to charm it extra heavily to prevent Rubeus from discovering where they were hiding out as well as Chad and Grandfather.  
"Don't worry. We will do all we can to release him and the other two from the negative control being exerted over them."  
Everybody else echoed Raye's promise and Catzi especially sobbed gratefully.  
"Oh thank you very much. I am so deeply concerned for him."  
The others also expressed their concern for the last two Droids on the spaceship.

Afterwards Greg had to catch his train to go back home. His parents would be waiting at the station where they were living and all the girls saw him off at their city's station.  
"Thank you for visiting Greg," said Amy as they hugged tenderly.  
"Look after yourself Amy," said Greg.  
The others all shook hands and wished him a safe trip.  
"Thank you for all your help Greg."  
"See you next time."  
"Take care."

Greg waved a cheerful farewell as his train proceeded to chug off.  
However as he sat down in his seat he sighed with a heavy heart. He hadn't even told the Sailor Scouts but he had seen another vision of the immediate future after his departure. He simply could not have shared it with them. It was not a happy future. Catzi was going to be devastated enough when it happened. She did not need to be weeping hopelessly about it before in advance.


	13. Chapter 13

CHAPTER 13

Little Rini was standing in the middle of the bridge overlooking the boating lake in Mr. Baxter's park on her way home from school that afternoon. She was too small to reach the railing, but she was peering through the wooden bars down at the water. One hand holding a bar and her ever-present blue ball tucked underneath her opposite arm, she was deep in heavy thought and feeling somewhat upset with a dreadfully painful memory combined with something she had observed the previous day.

"It can't be true. Serena is really Sailor Moon and Raye and the other girls are the Sailor Scouts. Well, I saw them transform with my own eyes and I suppose it's perfectly reasonable to discover that the other four are the past selves of the warriors who are my faithful friends and protectors back home. But how can Serena possibly be Sailor Moon?"  
She remembered cringingly the terror and horror she had experienced when she had attempted to place the five girls in a drugged sleep while searching for the object of her quest. The Silver Imperium Crystal. All of them, except Serena had drunk the spiked tea and she had been as wild and ferocious as a hungry tiger when she had taken Rini by surprise.

She almost felt like she was choking as she recalled Serena's fingers grasping her and lifting her off her feet into the air by her throat. The snarling angry voice that accused her of poisoning her friends and threatened to destroy her in return. The memory of how she had pleaded with Serena that her friends were still alive brought tears to Rini's eyes. She had quite literally forgotten about that messed up incident after all the many times she had been attacked by the members of the Black Moon Clan and rescued by Sailor Moon. However the revelation of Sailor Moon's secret identity had brought it all back to her with shock and confusion.  
"My mummy in the future loves me so very much. I just can't understand how Sailor Moon, the revered past self of my mother, could have treated me in such a horrible fashion. No matter what she may have wrongfully assumed about what I had done to her friends at that time," she broke off her sorrowful train of thought with uncontrollable sobs. "H-h-how could she have d-d-done that?"

Rini looked up with a start as some people crossing the bridge spoke to her. "Hey little girl."  
"Are you all right?"  
Rini composed herself and blowing her nose thought of a quick reply. "Oh, I'm f-fine. It's just that m-my pet canary died in his c-cage yesterday."  
"So sorry to hear that kid." The man said consolingly and his lady friend gave her a pat on the head.  
"No wonder you're so sad," she said kindly and Rini thanked them, said she'd be all right and ran off towards home.  
As she went on her way she thought, "The enemy must have bewitched Sailor Moon's secret identity. That is surely it. I must get that locket I saw with the crystal inside as soon as I can and take it back to the future with me. Then my mummy will be set free here in the past as well. But I must be very careful around her when she's Serena. She is too unstable and could maybe snap again at any given moment."

Meanwhile Rubeus and his buddies were sitting around a small table on their spaceship engaged in heated discussion. "We must destroy those six vagabonds," said Thunderclap.  
"And also do away with Rini and claim the Silver Crystal," said Hypnotica.  
Rubeus opened his mouth to say something too, but just then the trio heard a high pitched cackling laugh and then three people materialized in their midst. Two men and a woman. The woman was the one who had laughed, and she was dressed in dark green clothing with three bright green gems set in the chest and upper belly part of her dress. It complimented her bright green hair and she carried a large pink comb, which she kept vainly running through her long strands. The men wore tank tops, long pants and sandals. One had light skin like the woman and bluish hair, while the other had dark skin and purple hair. They also wore orange gems, similar to the gems that were embedded in the Droids' bodies or on their clothing, around their necks like necklaces. But they, like the woman, also had the symbol of the upside down dark crescent moon on their foreheads.

Rubeus and his friends all jumped up from their chairs in surprise. They had not expected this. "Emerald, Doom and Gloom!" gasped Rubeus. "What are you doing here and how did you get here?"  
Thunderclap added, "You are all clearly here physically in your bodies. Yet you should only be able to send projected images of yourselves from the future."  
Hypnotica finished by saying, "We can only teleport ourselves places here in the immediate past through the magical technology of our time travel spacecraft. How have you been able to teleport through the time barrier to us?"  
Emerald, the woman smiled and said, "Simple Hypnotica. Brothers. Let's show them our right hands."  
Evidently she was the sister of the two men she had just called brothers and Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica looked and stared at the little dark rings on the middle fingers of their right hands.

Emerald went on to say, "Behold our magic rings courtesy of the Wiseman and the Grim Man. With them we can travel back and forth from Crystal Tokyo to this primitive little dump here in the past and back again without the need of a spaceship like yours."  
Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were amazed and impressed to be honest, but as soon as Rubeus asked again what they were doing here, they became very angry and resentful.  
Emerald casually said with a brief, short laugh, "Well, my brothers and I came to tell you that Prince Diamond is appointing us to take your place in the mission back here."  
"WHAT?" Rubeus yelled and his friends gasped, but the bad news wasn't over yet.  
The light skinned brother said, "In fact the prince intends to kick you out of our clan. He doesn't want you anymore."  
Thunderclap screamed loudly, "WHAT"S THAT YOU SAY?"  
Hypnotica protested, "But we've done a lot of good for our cause. Even though the Sailor Scouts interfered we succeeded in setting up the major Crystal Points to operate under their noses."  
Emerald carried on as the main speaker. "True, but you've failed to destroy our enemies and capture that troublesome brat Rini. Near enough isn't good enough for Prince Diamond. He wants a perfect score."  
The dark skinned brother spoke at last. "The three of you have only 24 hours before we take over. If you think you can succeed and redeem yourselves then knock yourselves out trying."

Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were reduced to states of shock. It couldn't be true? But Emerald and her brothers had no reason to lie to them. Stammering he managed to speak. "T-tell our ill-illustrious prince th-that my b-b-buddies and I w-w-will make good on the f-final phases of our m-m-mission before you c-c-c-come b-ba-back."  
Emerald kept combing her hair and said, "Right Rubeus. But remember in 24 hours the three of you are finished. Then me and my brothers take your places. Let's go boys."  
With another laugh she and they faded away leaving Rubeus distressed but determined. "We will show them my friends," he said clenching his fists. "Together we will prove ourselves to Prince Diamond and we will receive great honour in his sight.  
Thunderclap and Hypnotica echoed his sentiments. "Yes we will triumph."  
"Nothing will stop us."

While they were promising not to let each other down, Serena and Rini were arriving home at the same time. Serena greeted Rini cheerily. "Hello there Rini."  
"Hi Serena," Rini replied as normal and casual as she could. She was only thinking about the crystal inside the locket that Serena was innocently wearing around her neck. She had to get it. But how? That was the big question.

As soon as they entered the front door they were greeted by the cheery voice of Serena's mother. "Rini! Serena! I've been baking pancakes. Would you like some?"  
"Pancakes? Oh yes, please Mum. That sounds wonderful." Serena's mouth was watering as she sat down at the table and Rini, who was also feeling slightly hungry joined her.  
As Serena shovelled down her pancakes with whipped butter and maple syrup, her mother said, "Goodness! Slow down Serena. You're making a mess dripping syrup and butter down your chin. Look it's even falling off and down onto that locket you always wear. It will be so sticky."  
As Rini frowned at her she was quietly thinking, "I told you I made a perfect imitation of the way you often eat at Raye's temple yesterday, you big pig."

Serena gulped and blushed absent mindedly wiping her sticky face with her hand, then she looked at her locket and said, "Sorry Mum. I guess I was a little carried away. I'd better wash my locket as well as my face and hands in the bathroom at once. But the pancakes were the best. Thank you."  
Mum took her plate and said, "You're most welcome dear. I'd better put some aside for Sammy. He should be home any minute now."  
While Rini was slowly and carefully finishing her plateful and wondering about how to get that locket Serena took it into the bathroom and washed all the stickiness off it in the sink. Then she washed herself.

Suddenly she remembered something important and snapped up straight from where she was bent over at the sink gasping. "Oh no! I forgot! Luna and Artemis and the other Scouts are waiting for me at the temple!"  
She ran out of the bathroom and up the stairs to her room, where she hurriedly changed her clothes. Racing downstairs her feet flew out from under her and she slid down on her backside crying out in pain on each step.  
Her mother was horrified and picked her up at the bottom. "Serena! Are you all right?"  
Despite the pain Serena wasn't terribly injured and as soon as she was on her feet she blurted out, "I'm fine, really Mum. I can't stay to talk. I just remembered I promised to meet my friends today and I'm running badly late."  
"Oh Serena. You'd better get going then. What am I going to do with you?"  
"Bye Mum." Serena raced out the door nearly bowling over her brother Sammy.  
"Oof. Hey you dork! Watch it!"  
Serena didn't even bother to answer him back over her shoulder. She knew that Luna and Raye in particular would be sure to rebuke her when she arrived panting.

But Rini couldn't believe her luck when she went to the bathroom to wash her face while Sammy was getting his pancakes. There in the middle of the sink was the locket which Serena had left behind in her desperate haste. Her fingers closed around it and she slipped it inside her pocket. "After all this time I have it," she thought joyfully. "Now I can return to the future and set my mother free."

At the very same moment Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica received two other visitors on their spaceship. These visitors were more familiar to them. The holographic forms of the Wiseman and the Grim Man materialized in the middle of the floor where they commonly appeared and Hypnotica noticed them first as she happened to be facing in their direction.  
"Wiseman. Grim Man." Her friends turned to attention upon hearing her voice and the Grim Man spoke next immediately.  
"It is time for you three to act. We are here to tell you that the child has possession of the Silver Crystal."  
Thunderclap and Hypnotica gasped while Rubeus asked them, "Are you absolutely sure?"  
The Wiseman waved his transparent hands over his crystal ball and replied, "Of course Rubeus. I foresee that she will be in the park by the lake in the next fifteen minutes by herself when twilight is approaching."  
The Grim Man added, "This is your final chance to prove your worth as clan members to Prince Diamond."  
Rubeus vowed, "We will succeed," and his friends seconded his oath.

So just as the Wiseman predicted, Rini quietly sneaked out of the house and made her way to the park which was now deserted since everybody usually went home when it was getting dark, unless there was a special occasion on at night, such as a fair or a market. Serena's locket was still concealed inside Rini's pocket and she held the time travel key that her friend, the mysterious tall lady in the future had given her.  
"At last! I'm on my way home with the vital object of my quest," she declared as she raised the Time Key high above her head.

However before she could recite the magical incantation Hypnotica materialized just above her and snatched the key out of her hand pocketing it.  
"You're going nowhere except with us little girl," she laughed rising into the air where Rubeus and Thunderclap appeared by her sides.  
Rini was terrified and began to back away in abject horror. Her ball had slipped from her grasp and rolled backwards as if drawn to her.  
Rubeus said, "We know you have the crystal."  
Thunderclap raised her electric charge sticks ready to beat her drum. "Give it to us or else we'll make you," she threatened.  
Rini cried out, "No! Leave me alone!" Then she screamed and the symbol on her forehead glowed brightly and shot the same jet of golden light up into the sky.

As usual the general public were mystified, not knowing what these bright bursts of yellowish gold colour meant. But Serena and her friends recognized them at once and so did Luna and Artemis.  
"Rini's in trouble!" shouted Luna.  
"Everybody transform," commanded Artemis and they all did. Except for one.  
"Serena! Why haven't you transformed?" Luna demanded to know.  
Serena was almost in tears. "I can't find my transformation locket."  
The Sailor Scouts all gasped in dismay and Sailor Mercury said, "But it should be with you Serena. We always carry our transformation sticks on our persons all the time."  
Serena whined piteously. "I think I left it in the bathroom at home when I was washing it before I realized I was running late."  
Sailor Mars began to yell at her incompetence but Artemis quickly took charge.  
"HOLD IT! HOLD IT! There's no time for arguing. We must save Rini. Luna, you take Serena home to get her locket while the rest of us track down Rini's whereabouts with Mercury's data computer. There's not a second to lose."  
So the others all followed Sailor Mercury's lead and Luna ran home with Serena.

When they reached the front door Luna puffed. "You really are a meat-ball head. How could you leave the locket behind?"  
"Chill out Luna. I'll get it where I left it."

But the locket was not in the bathroom sink any more and Serena desperately asked her mother and Sammy where it was.  
"I haven't seen it Serena," said her mother and Sammy solemnly swore that he had not taken it.  
"I never saw it when I went to the bathroom Serena. Maybe you should ask Rini?"  
As this suggestion brought a strong and shocking possibility to Serena's mind, her mother said, "Speaking of Rini, it's getting very late. She must have gone out for a stroll by herself. Serena, will you please go and find her while Sammy and I prepare dinner? Your father should be home from work soon."  
"Oh. Okay Mum. I-I'm sure she didn't go very far. She's such a sensible little girl. I'll find her nearby."  
"Thank you Serena."

As Serena and Luna left they contacted the others by communicator. "Bad news girls. I can't become Sailor Moon. My locket's missing. I think Rini must have taken it."  
Sailor Venus was talking on her communicator while they were running. "So we have to save Rini and get your locket back? Okay Serena. You can count on us."  
Raye yelled with annoyance. "Which is more than we can say for you Serena! We can't even count to one on you! We needed you at this time most of all! Now we won't be able to liberate Rubeus and the other two!"

Serena could hear her shouts in the background and she gritted her teeth as she hung up her communicator. "That bad tempered Raye."  
"Well she's right Serena."  
"Luna."  
"No, don't deny it with me Serena. If you hadn't lost your locket you could have gone with them. And you should have gone with them to help Sailor Mars heal those poor brainwashed people."  
Serena bowed her head and sighed as the truth sank in.  
Luna said, "Well anyway, I sure hope the girls can defeat them without having to hurt them too much."

Rini was currently preparing to try to turn and run away. Thunderclap raised her weapon that resembled a hair drier and shouted angrily. "Stay or I'll blast you!"  
But the Sailor Scouts had arrived and Sailor Mars attacked to make them back off. "MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" Thunderclap and the other two all jumped aside crying out in dismay as the rings of fire flew around them. Sailor Mars hadn't even aimed to hit them directly. She was purposefully off by a couple of inches, but it served the purpose of distracting them as Sailor Mars ran over and picked up Rini. "Sailor Mars!" She cried and the other Sailor Scouts urged Sailor Mars to get Rini to safety.  
Sailor Mercury made sure they would not be pursued. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" She could have used her upgraded and highly powerful Mercury Ice Storm Blast, but naturally none of them wanted to seriously harm their opponents. So while Rubeus and his friends were temporarily incapacitated with a chilly foggy mist, the Sailor Scouts all made their escape with Rini.

When they were a safe distance away Rini said, "Put me down Raye."  
Raye stopped running but she stared at the child in her arms with astonishment, and as the others pulled up short she said again, "It's all right. I know who you all are. I saw you transform at the Cherry Hill Temple. Now will you please put me down Raye?"  
Raye complied and the other Scouts were all amazed to learn that Rini knew their true identities.

When Rini's feet were back on the ground, her blue ball mysteriously came floating through the air and reaching out she took it into her hands.  
"I really am grateful to you all for saving me. However I want you to understand that I will not under any circumstance give back Serena's locket. I need the Silver Crystal inside it to save my mother."  
The Scouts all smiled and began to attempt to reason with her. "Rini," said Sailor Mars. "We were all worried about you just now, including Serena."  
"Serena worried about me?" Rini scoffed. "She doesn't care at all. She hates me. Hasn't she ever told you she threatened to kill me back when I put the four of you into a drugged sleep at the Temple? She would rather see me die!"  
The Sailor Scouts all looked at each other. Then Sailor Mercury spoke soothingly. "Rini, we know what she did and said to you. We won't deny it. But she's really very pleased she didn't harm you now."  
Sailor Venus added, "Yes. She understands that you never really harmed us, like she assumed you had at first."  
Sailor Jupiter spoke next. "You can't imagine how deeply sorry she felt after that. She may still get annoyed with you. But she acknowledges that you are not in the least bit evil."

"Why don't you give her the chance she deserves?" implored Sailor Mars.  
But Rini couldn't forgive and forget so easily and she ran off shouting over her shoulder, "I don't want to hear this! I'm making my own way back to the future and I'm taking the crystal with me."  
Before they could say or do anything else Rini bounced her ball and said, "Mini magic tricks. Transport me away from those four to somewhere safe."  
Then she vanished before their worried eyes.

Meanwhile Rubeus and his friends were back on board their spaceship examining the monitor screens on a different console each. Rubeus sneered. "You can run but you can't hide Rini. Not even with the help of the Sailor Scouts."  
Hypnotica laughed. "You can't return to the future without your Time Key." She held it up in one hand above her head triumphantly.  
Thunderclap spoke out in turn. "Sooner or later we will find you. We will destroy your friends and claim the crystal."  
They all continued to adjust their monitors in effort to locate her.

Serena was very upset to hear from her friends that Rini had vanished again and that she still had her locket. The Sailor Scouts promised to spend the rest of the night searching if need be and so she went home with Luna to tell her family the sad news.

But when she arrived home she had a rather unpleasant surprise. "SERENA! Where have you been?" roared her father angrily when she called out to let them know she was back.  
"Huh? Why I've been out searching for my little cousin Rini of course."  
This time it was her mother who expressed her indignant rage. "Don't tell such ridiculously absurd stories Serena. You have no cousin by the name of Rini."  
"What? But she's been staying with us for such a long time and you told me to go out and try to find her."  
Dad and Mum looked like they were bombs about to explode.  
"ENOUGH OF THIS SILLY GAME SERENA!" Dad shouted making Serena cringe. "Your mother and I have been worried half to death. We didn't know where you had disappeared to. It's very late."  
"Now you can eat your dinner cold and forget about dessert. This will teach you not to go wandering off so close to dark. And if you ever tell such stupid obvious lies again we will really lose our tempers. Be warned."

Serena could tell that her parents meant it and after eating her dreadfully cold meal and bewailing the fact that she was denied dessert she went up to bed with Luna at her heels. The look that Sammy gave her as she walked past him at the top of the stairs looking out of his own bedroom door told her that he also had no more memory of their "cousin Rini".  
When she had shut her door Luna was deeply sympathetic. "I'm very sorry you landed in such hot water Serena. The reason your parents have never been angry with you for coming home late before is due to part of the magic of the Silver Crystal." Then she added as an afterthought, "It also seems that Rini must have lifted the enchantment she cast upon your family now that she anticipates going back to Crystal Tokyo with the Silver Crystal soon."  
"Thanks Luna. I'd better call the others." Serena used her communicator to let her friends know what had happened.

Sailor Mars suggested that they call off their search and consult the sacred fire at the Temple. Serena couldn't risk trying to slip out without her locket to become Sailor Moon, but her friends and Artemis all went to the Cherry Hill Temple and quietly slipped inside the fire's shrine without waking Chad or Grandfather.  
They quickly transformed out of their Sailor outfits and Raye earnestly consulted the flames. "Great Sacred Fire. Please show us where Rini is."  
She gasped with surprise and relief when she saw the vision in the fire's deep burning center.  
"She's okay girls. She's with Darien at his apartment and she's sleeping soundly in his bed while he sleeps on the sofa."

Indeed when Rini had magically whisked herself away to somewhere safe, that somewhere turned out to be just outside the door of his apartment. Darien himself had met her to his surprise as he was arriving home with his evening grocery bags and she had pleaded with him. "Darien. I know that Serena is really Sailor Moon, so you must be Tuxedo Mask. Is that right? Please let me stay with you tonight. I'm being hunted again and I know you'll protect me."  
Darien had been taken aback by this unexpected request. But he still felt such a very strong affection drawing him towards this little girl, though he couldn't understand it. So he had replied, "Of course Rini. Come inside and you'll be safe with me."  
In fact while Rini slept peaceful and contented in her own clothes, he even had changed into his tuxedo and the rest of his outfit and he was sleeping even with his mask in place, though his hat and cane both lay beside the sofa. He was determined to be ready to fight if anybody tried to kidnap Rini.

Raye and the others called Serena back and told her this revelation. "Oh good," she sighed in relief. "At least Tuxedo Mask will keep her safe and hopefully nothing more will happen tonight. In the morning I shall call in to see her at Darien's on the way to school."  
"Okay Serena. Keep in touch with us. We must persuade her to return your locket and allow us to help her from now on," said Raye as they all said good night mutually and transformed to make their way to their own homes. Raye herself of course went to bed.

Fortunately Rubeus and his buddies had no way of actually tracking her to where she was sleeping. They scoured the streets of the city with their monitors until they grew tired and reluctantly went to bed themselves. But they determined to find her in the morning if it was the last thing they ever did.

Rini woke up after a good night's rest to find Darien still dressed as Tuxedo Mask, preparing her a hot breakfast of eggs and bacon which he served her in bed. "Here you go little Rini-wini. Eat and enjoy."  
She smiled at his cheerful masked face as she took the tray. "Thank you dear Tuxedo Mask."  
While he watched her eating she thought to herself. She had been dreaming about her past although it was now technically in the future. She had seen the events so clearly as when they had happened. The sight of her mother, the queen of Crystal Tokyo lying still and silent in her crystal coffin, not really dead, but placed in enchanted sleep like Snow White. Then she recalled the image of her father, the king. He too was sealed away in a different manner. He had had enough power to resist the curse that had been placed upon his wife but he was never-the-less reduced to a phantom state, as if he were a ghost. He had given command to the four female guardian warriors of the kingdom to escort their only child, Rini, safely through the battlefield to the strange, tall, greenish-haired woman who had promised to take up position as the keeper of the Door to Time while the rest of their loyal army sought to try to hold off the invaders. She saw in her dream how they had carried her as fast as they could run through the bombardment of laser attacks from spaceships flying high overhead. One of them had said, "I wish Sailor Moon were able to help us," as they ran together.

Finally she saw how they had taken her to the Door and left her with her friend, running off to join in the fight. She saw again her friend present her with the blue ball for communications and the Time Key telling her to go into the distant past and retrieve the Silver Imperium Crystal. Then as she entered the door she had awoken.

She spoke up and asked, "Tuxedo Mask. Will you please tell me something?"  
"Okay. What do you want to know Rini?"  
She hesitated a second, then said, "Is Sailor Moon a good person?"  
Tuxedo Mask was a little surprised. He hadn't expected such a question. But he smiled and said, "Oh yes. She's the best."  
Rini thought about this answer carefully. She knew what her special relationship to Darien/Tuxedo Mask was and he had given her no reason at all to be afraid of him. However she still found it very difficult to come to terms with Serena/Sailor Moon. "My mother must be a good person at heart," she thought to herself. "She really must be under some kind of negative influence that Tuxedo Mask doesn't realize. Even though I've lost the key I need to somehow get back to the future. I'll contact my friend with my ball when I get a private moment. Surely she can help me."  
"You're deep in thought Rini. Are you thinking about what I just said?"  
Rini looked up at him. "Huh? Oh yes." It really was the truth though Tuxedo Mask had no way of knowing all the intricate details.  
"I must admit Sailor Moon is far from perfect but she still has such a beautifully kind nature."  
"Hmm," was all the reply Rini gave him. She was thinking about that awful experience when she was facing Serena in her violent rage.

Just then the doorbell rang and Tuxedo Mask said, "Pardon me Rini."  
Leaving her alone on the bed he walked carefully to the door and called out, "Who is it?"  
"Darien. It's Serena. Is Rini still with you? I've been very worried."  
When he heard her voice Darien knew he could answer the door in his Tuxedo Mask suit and he opened it up saying "Sure Serena."  
With an excited cry of "Tuxedo Mask!" she threw herself into his warm arms, closing the door behind her.  
Tuxedo Mask said, "Rini's been with me all night. Come on. I'll take you to her."

Rini was not sticking around to meet Serena though. She had heard every word in the small apartment and as soon as Serena had said she was outside, she had sprang out of the bed, her feet only in her socks ignoring her shoes and began bouncing her ball. "Mini Magic Tricks. Give me a parachute to escape and fast." At her beckoning the bouncing ball turned into a parachute, which she strapped onto her back and jumped from the apartment window just as they entered together.

Tuxedo Mask was flabbergasted. He wasn't expecting anything like this and as he and Serena ran to the window and watched Rini's chute open, Serena wailed in despair. "Oh no. Rini has my magic locket Tuxedo Mask."  
"What? That means you can't become Sailor Moon!"  
Without even answering him Serena pulled out her communicator and called Amy. "Amy! Rini has just escaped. She's floating slowly down from Darien's apartment window. Gather the other Scouts and try to intercept her."  
"We'll get on it straight away Serena."

As soon as Rini landed safely below her parachute changed back into her ball. She picked it up and prepared to contact her friend to ask for help in getting back to the future when suddenly the enormous spaceship piloted by Rubeus and his friends appeared above the buildings at an alarmingly low level. It was barely five inches above the highest roof and people watching from their windows were screaming about a UFO in broad daylight. Rini screamed as a beam of light shot down towards her and began to drag her helplessly up into the air when the Sailor Scouts appeared led by Luna and Artemis. The two cats shouted out to the girls to go to Rini's rescue and with immense leaps, they landed inside the circle of light, joining hands, surrounding Rini and concentrated all their energy into their combined planet powers.  
"JUPITER PLANET POWER!"  
"VENUS PLANET POWER!"  
"MERCURY PLANET POWER!"  
"MARS PLANET POWER!"

Even though they lacked the added power of Sailor Moon, Rini seized hold of her ball and quickly making the radio antennae stick out began desperately to yell, "My dear friend, please give me your protection in addition to my other friends!"  
And it seemed that her friend back in the future at her post could sense what danger she was in, for immense power emanated from the ball and as it combined with the Sailor Scouts power, Rini slowly floated back down to the ground in the middle of the ring of four Scouts.  
Sailor Mars shouted at Rini to get out of there. "We must try to hold our ground against this beam Rubeus and the other two are projecting. Run Rini, run!"  
Reluctantly Rini backed out through the gap between Sailors Mars and Mercury and as she completely stepped out of the beam of light, the added power from her ball left the Sailor Scouts. It had never occurred to her to consider leaving her ball in the center with them and despite their best efforts to resist their feet slowly rose off the ground until they could fight back no longer and with a whoosh all four of them were sucked up towards the spaceship and through the hole from which the force had come.

Artemis and Luna yelled at Rini to run away, but she was frozen in shock. Fortunately though Tuxedo Mask gallantly appeared from behind, scooped her up and carried her to safety with the cats at his heels. Rini soon found herself back in the nearby shadows with Tuxedo Mask, the two cats and Serena. She had observed what happened and she was devastated. "Oh no! My friends! What is going to happen to them? What will Rubeus and those others do to them now? If only I could become Sailor Moon I could do something to help them."  
As Serena burst into tears and Tuxedo Mask, Luna and Artemis looked worriedly at the grim, foreboding, flying machine, Rini felt a twinge of indecision. Should she give back the locket containing the Silver Crystal to Serena? She needed it to save her mother in the future, but then again, Serena was her mother's past self. And those were the past selves of her dearly beloved friends and guardians up there in who knows what trouble?  
But would it be safe to give it to her? Was her fear justified? If she turned on her violently would Tuxedo Mask be able to restrain her in time?  
All these questions churned over and around in Rini's mind while she stood there, forgotten about for the time being at least.

TO BE CONTINUED!


	14. Chapter 14

CHAPTER 14

The enormous spacecraft rose up into the air and shot across the sky and out of sight as Serena, Rini and Tuxedo Mask all watched dismayed. All the other many eye-witnesses were still glued to their windows and began to start talking together in their small groups saying things such as the following:  
"Did you see what I saw?"  
"It was an enormous UFO!"  
"What was that beam of light?"  
"It looked like people were scooped up by it!"  
"I think they looked like the Sailor Scouts, but I can't be certain!"  
"Oh no! If the Sailor Scouts have been abducted this could mean we're going to be invaded!"  
"If it was them surely they will overpower their abductors and escape?"  
"I hope so!"

While the public talked amongst themselves the stories were confused and contradicted when the media interviewers attempted to put the pieces together. Not even those who were at the same window could agree on whether the people snatched up by the UFO were the Sailor Scouts or whether they may have just looked like them. In fact there was even disagreement with how many abduction victims there had been with the number ranging from two to eight or nine. Some even thought that they may have actually been aliens who had re-entered their spaceship, even though nobody had seen any of them exit it beforehand. The truth was they had been sucked up so fast in barely two seconds, plus everybody's attention had been centered upon the spaceship itself. Not upon what was happening at the point where the beam illuminated the ground.

As for Tuxedo Mask he quickly concealed Serena and Rini inside his apartment bathroom and changed back into Darien. The two of them sat together in still silence while he gave his own version of the story to the interviewers outside his front door. Later in the day this bizarre incident would be mentioned on both the Midday and Early Evening News, but in the meantime when none of the girls including Serena, showed up at their various schools, students and teachers began to speculate from rumours they'd heard that it was they who had been abducted. Miss Haruna was very upset and worried about the three who went to her school. Especially dear Serena, who she taught personally. She asked her good friend, Mrs. Helen Humphries, to stand in for her. Usually Mrs. Humphries only taught sewing classes, but she did also do some general substitutionary work as well.  
"I understand Patricia," she said hugging her friend and patting her gently on the back. "Serena really means so much to you, doesn't she? Go and have a cup of tea in the staff room, while I teach your class for you."  
"Th-thank you Helen." Miss Haruna was starting to cry. "I hope Serena and the other girls w-will be all right. Th-their families will be so devastated when they hear about th-this."  
"So do I Patricia. I hope the Sailor Scouts will rescue them. If anybody can save them, they can."  
Miss Haruna was cheered by her friend's confident statement. She felt encouraged by this. Her faith in the Sailor Scouts was unwaverable. "I'll have a cup of tea and if I feel better enough I'll relieve you Helen. Thank you once more."  
"Anytime dear Patricia."

As for the whereabouts of the spacecraft it was currently hovering where it usually did, over the open field outside the city where nobody ever came. Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica were in the process of discussing their next move when they were visited by the sudden manifestation of Emerald, Doom and Gloom once more. Emerald was laughing in her usual manner, running her comb habitually through her hair with her two brothers standing to attention on her right and left. Rubeus and his friends all frowned at them as Emerald spoke finally.  
"Good work you three. You captured Sailor Moon's friends, but let the kid get away with the crystal we wanted."  
Gloom remarked, "You're so clever, aren't you?"

Thunderclap and Hypnotica started to get angry but Rubeus put his hands on their shoulders to calm them. "Don't let them aggravate you, my friends. We still have time to capture the kid, the crystal and maybe even Sailor Moon. She will come sooner or later to save her friends. And then we will set a trap demanding the brat accompany her with the crystal."  
Hypnotica became thrilled. "Yes that's right. These three smart alecks can laugh and jeer all they want."  
Thunderclap laughed herself. "But we'll make them eat their words. HA HA HA!"  
Doom and Gloom just continued to smirk and Emerald still combing her hair said, "Well remember then that you only have five more hours. Then Prince Diamond's decree will be carried out."  
Doom guffawed. "Next time we come this job will be ours," and Gloom chortled himself as they dematerialized.

Rubeus said, "You heard them. There's no time to lose. We must go back and issue our challenge to Sailor Moon."  
"Yes Rubeus. It will be the lives of her friends at stake."  
"She will be sure to answer our challenge, then we will destroy them all and give our prince the Silver Crystal."  
They all clasped right hands and shared a hearty laugh together.

But what they didn't know was that Emerald and her brothers were lying. At least their claims were half true. Prince Diamond really did want to relieve them of active duties and appoint the brothers and sister team to take over at the suggestion of the Wiseman and the Grim Man. However he was not intending to kick them out of the clan. On the contrary, he intended to shower them with honours for all the good they had managed to accomplish for their cause. But Emerald, Doom and Gloom felt a shared, irresistable urge to make them think Prince Diamond wanted to disgrace them instead. They had no way of knowing this, so they all went about making their best efforts to prove themselves worthy of the prince's praise. Their "mentors" were still playing cat and mouse with their pawns against each other.

Back at Darien's apartment, as soon as the news media people had left, he went to his bathroom where the two girls were hidden. He knelt down to talk to Rini while Serena stood looking at them both in silence. "Hey Rini. Are you okay?"  
Rini was holding her ball as usual and she looked at him and answered, "I, um, suppose I'm all right. But I'm still feeling shocked and a little confused."  
"Please tell me about it," he gently urged her.  
She trusted him deeply so she opened up to him. "Well I'm very happy knowing that you are Tuxedo Mask," then she glanced briefly over her shoulder. "But I still have a problem with Serena being Sailor Moon."  
Serena gave a gasp of hurt dismay and Darien looked at her, then back at Rini.  
"Rini," he said, "have you given Serena her locket back yet. It's very important."  
"But Darien. I just told you," Rini raised her voice. "I can't trust her!"  
"But why Rini?" Serena suddenly wailed and Darien desperately shushed them.  
"Be quiet please. Those people are still in the neighbourhood talking to everybody and they'll hear you. Rini if you really trust me, then please tell me why you can't trust Serena."  
So Rini said everything to him and Serena heard it too.  
"Oh Rini. I didn't realize you were still deeply hurt. Please believe me when I say I am so deeply sorry," begged Serena.  
Rini thought for a moment then said to Darien, "I already asked you if Sailor Moon was a good person and you said yes. Tell me, do you think Serena is also a good person?"  
Darien immediately answered with a smile, "Serena is one of the kindest people I've ever known. She does have her faults, but she has a very good heart. She makes mistakes sometimes but she still longs to do the right thing and she will always strive to do what she should do when she realizes she's been wrong. You know Serena came to your rescue as Sailor Moon not long after she had accused you of evil because she realized she'd been mistaken."  
"That's right Rini. I was concerned for you and deeply regretful that I'd treated you so badly. I was sorry then and I will always regret my error. You must understand that."  
Then as she turned around facing Serena while she spoke, tears came into Rini's eyes and she reached into her dress pocket and withdrew the locket. "I-I do believe you Serena."  
Serena had tears in her own eyes as she took the locket, bent down on her knees and hugged Rini who hugged her back.

But then Rini sat down suddenly on the bathroom floor letting her ball drop bouncing gently beside her. Folding her arms and bowing her head she sobbed rather loudly. "If only they hadn't taken me by surprise and snatched my Time Key away from me!"  
Darien said, "Otherwise you'd be back in the future by now with the Silver Crystal. Isn't that right?"  
As Rini looked back up at him again Serena watched open mouthed.  
He went on to say, "Rini. If we have established full trust then let's have no more secrets. Please tell me, and Serena too, what you were intending to do with the Silver Crystal when you went back to the future?"  
Rini turned around on her behind so she was able to address them both with each side of her face in their respective directions. "My mother. She's in terrible trouble and I need the Silver Crystal to save her."  
Darien and Serena both squatted down to speak to her. "Please tell us what happened to your mother Rini?" begged Serena.  
"We want to be able to help you," said Darien.

So Rini finally told them exactly how her mother was sealed up inside a magical crystal tomb within their own royal palace and her father was reduced to a phantom like presence barely able to do anything and she had been sent into the past on a mission to locate the Silver Crystal with its power to save them.  
Darien and Serena both lay their hands gently on her. "Rini we believe that the Silver Crystal must indeed have the power to release your mother and father from their prisoned states, but you must let us work with you," said Darien.  
"And another thing Rini," said Serena. "You don't know about this yet, but it seems these invaders in your future world are not really as wicked as they seem. Out of those who followed you to the past six of them are now living in hiding at the Cherry Hill Temple. We realized that they believe they are on a personal mission to avenge their various families. They think that your parents in the future and also us here in the past somehow murdered them."

Rini gave a sharp intake of breath with her eyes bulging wide. "Is this really true Serena?"  
"It is Rini. Unfortunately we killed three of them before we understood the truth, but now," she held up the locket as she spoke, "I can heal and redeem those last three. I just hope my friends are okay though."  
"We'll find out soon Serena. They'll be back and they'll have an ultimatum no doubt," said Darien while Rini was running all this information through her mind trying to process it. It was incredible to comprehend.

When they all exited the bathroom they found Luna and Artemis lying innocently on Darien's bed. Rini took them by surprise when she said, "I remember hearing you talk once. I suppose you can talk too, you nice white cat."  
"What?" cried Luna. Artemis was struck dumb with shock, but Rini went on to explain.  
"Back when those people were surrounding me and Serena you yelled for us to run away."  
Luna blushed and admitted, "I do remember that now. I hadn't stopped to consider what you might think. I automatically reacted in that way to prompt Serena to get you to safety."  
Artemis finally found his voice. "A-and you're not taken aback by us being able to use human speech?"  
"Not at all. Where I come from I'm quite used to talking cats," answered Rini.

Darien and Serena were both about to speak but before they could do so, three familiar voices boomed out through the atmosphere, sounding like megaphones. They all ran to their window, just like everybody else all looked out of their own windows in alarm, to behold the return of the UFO. The voices of Rubeus and his buddies blared out speaking in turn.  
"Sailor Moon! We have your four friends and we will kill them if you don't bring us Rini and the Silver Crystal!"  
"We will give you only half an hour to come to us!"  
"If you don't show up we will destroy your friends and then hunt you down like the coward you will prove yourself to be!"  
"Remember! You have half an hour!"

Serena cried, "There's no time to lose. I must go to save my friends. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Before Rini's eyes she transformed into Sailor Moon, but Luna and Artemis tried to forestall her. "Wait! We need a plan!"  
Darien said, "That's right. A plan of attack. And I'm going to help you."  
With that he also transformed and Rini was awestruck to see Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask side by side.  
"Tuxedo Mask! If you're going to come with me then let's go right now."  
"No wait just one minute Sailor Moon. We do need to make a feasible plan before we go barging in there."  
Artemis said, "That's right. Just think about the situation. What are Rubeus and his friends demanding that you bring them?"  
Serena thought for a moment before blurting out, "They want Rini and the Silver Crystal!"  
"Exactly," said Luna. "Now are we all agreed that we can't put Rini in danger?"  
Even Sailor Moon agreed, though Rini only silently nodded with a half-hearted look on her face.  
Artemis continued, "And as for the Silver Crystal we can't risk anything possibly happening to it either."  
"So what are you suggesting we do?" asked Sailor Moon.  
Luna spoke, "Well you need the crystal to heal Rubeus and his friends. But they probably don't know that it is concealed inside your locket."  
Artemis continued, "So if we had a fake crystal for a decoy and also somehow a fake Rini, then you may be able to surprise them and heal them all."  
"I know what you're saying, but how are we going to accomplish this at such short notice?" Serena was getting rather edgy and intensely worried, but Tuxedo Mask said, "Perhaps Rini could help us?"

Rini snapped to attention upon hearing this and he continued to address her. "You can do all kinds of magic with that ball of yours, can't you? Will you be able to help us?"  
"Sure thing." Rini remembered the clone she'd made of herself a long time ago that had fooled Raye's Grandfather. She could do it again and also produce a realistic looking fake crystal. Bouncing her ball around and with a cry of "Mini magic tricks," she did both things in the blink of an eye.  
"Well done thank you," Tuxedo Mask took the crystal and pocketed it and Sailor Moon took the second Rini by the hand. "We'll be back triumphantly in no time. Luna and Artemis. You keep watch over the real Rini."  
Luna and Artemis promised solemnly and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask leaped out of the window together. Rini's clone was curled up in Sailor Moon's arms and Tuxedo Mask had his arm around them both.

But when the cats turned around the real Rini had also gone. "Artemis! The front door is open! She's running off!"  
"Oh no!" Artemis groaned. "You'd think that Rini was Serena's sister or something Luna. The same sort of hairstyle and the same pig-headed stubbornness."  
They ran out the door calling her name but Rini had already disappeared into the elevator. Luna hung her head while Artemis gritted his teeth. "I hope she doesn't mess things up Luna."

And so as Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask raced towards the hovering spaceship leading the fake Rini between them, people cheered for Sailor Moon and wished her good luck. The beam of light illuminated the ground and as they ran into it they were picked up into the air and sucked upwards. But the real Rini was secretly running behind them and a split second after they began to rise with a zoom, she also rushed into the beam's traction. The others were already transported inside the spaceship, but she was also drawn into it in the blink of an eye before the beam vanished. They were all lying face down dazed on the floor of a strange room in the spaceship. However the real Rini still had her ball and it emitted a magical force aimed at the genuine child waking her up. She quickly sprang to her feet, snatched up her ball and ran off to conceal herself in the shadows just before Rubeus and his buddies entered through the nearby door to behold who they had captured. They carried them out while still unconscious and Rini covertly followed.

Ten minutes later they finally started to recover and as they blinked and shook their heads their captors were standing before them.  
"Welcome Sailor Moon," said Hypnotica.  
"Hello Rini," sneered Rubeus to the clone.  
"We're also delighted to see the masked man in a cape. We all have a score to settle with him," laughed Thunderclap.

As Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask rose to their feet they began to plead with them.  
"Wait a minute. Please listen to us."  
"You're all being used by evil beings with sinister intent."  
"We're not letting you deceive us," shouted Rubeus. "Thunderclap! Hypnotica! Concentrate with me and activate our spell."  
The trio raised their hands, concentrating hard and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were dragged down to their knees and then on all fours like animals.  
"What's happening?" cried Sailor Moon.  
"I feel so very heavy," Tuxedo Mask moaned as he and Sailor Moon were pulled face down flat.  
Rubeus chortled and said, "We have magically altered the effect of the gravity around you both. You'll both be crushed slowly into the floor. A slow and lingering demise. Get the kid!"

Responding promptly Hypnotica ran over and picked up the fake Rini where she still lay prostrate and carried her over to Rubeus and Thunderclap. They tied her up tightly with strong cord.

Meanwhile as Luna and Artemis ran out into the street they were just in time to see the spaceship begin to slowly rise up higher and higher. It did not zoom away this time, but rose till it was only a very small speck standing still in the sky. "There's nothing we can do now Luna," said Artemis.  
"I hope they come back safely Artemis." Luna's voice trembled as she spoke.

While Rubeus and his buddies were gloating over their apparent victory, the real Rini sneaked away unnoticed and began to wander the rest of the spaceship trying to find where the Sailor Scouts were being held prisoner.  
Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were painfully pressed down into the floor unable to move.  
"Now that we have the kid, where's the crystal?" demanded Rubeus.  
"Give it to us and we might be merciful and kill you in a more fast and painless manner," laughed Thunderclap.  
"Ha-ha! The kid must be in a state of shock. She's not saying a word and her face is blankly neutral," jeered Hypnotica.

Sailor Moon thought to herself. "This cannot be the end. Oh Silver Imperium Crystal. Please help Tuxedo Mask and I with your magical energy."  
As if in answer to her unspoken plea the locket she had concealed around her neck and tucked behind her Sailor Scout collar began to faintly glow. Sensing its power she began to slowly push herself up. The gravity pull still existed but the counter-magic from the crystal gave her the strength to resist it. "Tuxedo Mask. You try to get up too," she urged and to the dismay of the watching trio they both climbed steadily, albeit shakily, to their feet. Their legs shook with the strain of resisting the downward force. But they were successful.  
"This cannot be," cried Hypnotica and Thunderclap exclaimed.  
"Rubeus. They're standing up with the magical g-force at its maximum capacity."  
"Yes I see it. But I don't believe it," blurted out Rubeus.  
Sailor Moon made another appeal. "Please we only want to help you."  
But Rubeus and his friends still wouldn't listen. Thunderclap and Hypnotica held the clone Rini captive between them and Rubeus stepped in front raising his hands. "It seems we've underestimated you, but I'm going to kill you now before you can destroy us."  
Sailor Moon screamed at him to wait and Tuxedo Mask tried to reach into his pockets and pull out the fake crystal in hopes of distracting Rubeus. However the g-force was hampering his movements making them even slower. It looked like it was finally all over.

But rescue came just in time. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!" Rubeus and his friends were taken by surprise at the unexpected attack of Sailor Mercury's deeply chilly fog. Rubeus hugged himself shaking and gasping, while Thunderclap and Hypnotica automatically threw their arms around each other hugging Rini's clone between them. The clone, not being real, did not react to the intense freezing temperature at all.  
Rini had discovered the other four Sailor Scouts trapped inside an enchanted mirror. Where Rini's reflection should have been, she could see them all pressing hopelessly up against the glass and with the usual bouncing of her faithful ball, she had produced a simple little magic stick that made the glass instantly disappear when it was gently touched by it.

Having freed Sailor Moon's friends Rini had led them quickly back the way she had come and now Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask were set free as the g-force returned to normal. Rini's clone and the fake crystal in Tuxedo Mask's pocket also vanished and Sailor Mars leaped into the air landing next to them in front of the shivering members of the Black Moon Clan. As the mist was dissipating Sailor Mars shouted, "Get ready to heal them Sailor Moon. I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
However as Sailor Mars threw her charms to everybody's dismay they stopped short and fell to the ground fizzling out as the trio recovered from the sudden drop in temperature. Hypnotica pulled her dagger out of her head and Thunderclap began beating her drum to build up power for a shock attack. Rubeus was raising his arms to summon up his power. "Let's take one each my good friends," he snarled.

But while they had their enraged attention focussed on Sailor Mars, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask in front of them, they had completely failed to remember the other enemies who were behind their backs.  
Sailor Venus acted at once to stop them. So did Sailor Jupiter.  
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"  
Sailor Venus sent her power snapping like a whip catching Hypnotica's hand holding the dagger around her wrist. Then as Sailor Jupiter ran up and seized Thunderclap from behind Sailor Venus ran to the side pulling Hypnotica off balance and twisting her around. In turn Sailor Jupiter used her enormous strength to turn Thunderclap the right way so that Hypnotica's dagger pierced her current drum. Jupiter jumped away with perfect timing as the two women shrieked with the pain of the shock running through them and collapsed moaning to the floor. Rubeus was horrified and as his attention was diverted, the other Scouts all picked up Rini and jumped overhead to join the others.  
"We hated doing that, but we had no choice. Let's all join hands and teleport ourselves out of here," said Sailor Venus.  
"But they still have my Time Key," Rini protested.  
"We will come back later for it," Sailor Mars urgently beckoned her to take hands with all of them, including Tuxedo Mask. "Let's all concentrate hard girls."  
Together they called out, "SAILOR PLANET POWER!" and as Rubeus was talking to his friends making sure they were all right, he quickly remembered the Scouts and turned rather worried. But when they dematerialized he cried out in amazement. "Hey! They've turned tail and ran off like cowardly rats instead of finishing us off." Hypnotica and Thunderclap staggered to their feet with Rubeus' assistance, their eyes bulging outwards unable to believe it was really true.

As they all materialized back on earth to the tremendous relief of Luna and Artemis and the cheers of joy from a few scattered windows where people still sat peering out, Serena demanded angrily to know why Rini had disobeyed her.  
"I had to go myself Serena. I was after all to blame for what had happened to the Scouts. I had to do something to save them."  
"Well you could have been captured, you little fungus and then,"  
But Sailor Mercury hurriedly cut her rant off. "Sailor Moon never mind. It's over now and we really did all eacape probably due to Rini's help in the end."  
"That's right," added Sailor Mars. "I don't know what stopped my charms from working but we must try again to heal their brainwashing. Then we'll get Rini's Time Key back off them."

However at that moment Rubeus and his friends had a dreadful shock as their spaceship began to overload its circuits for no reason.  
"Rubeus!" screamed Hypnotica. "What's happening?"  
"I- I don't know. But we must try to fix it at once." Having said this he and his buddies tried everything they could to stabilize the spaceship. But it was no use and things were rising slowly and steadily to an absolute meltdown.  
"We're going to blow up!" wailed Thunderclap.  
"We can't even teleport ourselves out of the spaceship! Nothing's working normally! It's like everything's suddenly gone into self-destruct mode!" Hypnotica shouted hysterically.  
"We're going to die!" gasped Rubeus.

Suddenly Emerald appeared in the middle of the main room. Doom and Gloom were not with her this time. "Well well. What do we have here?" she casually said and raised her open hand revealing three of the magic rings, similar to what she and her brothers were wearing.  
Rubeus and his friends were elevated and ran towards her.  
"Emerald. Thank goodness."  
"You have three of those rings just for us."  
"Quickly give them to us so we can return to the future with you."

But before they could reach her Emerald dematerialized with the rings. As they pulled up short disbelievingly they heard her disembodied voice sarcastically say with a laugh. "What a pity. I have to report back to Prince Diamond and tell him along with Wiseman and Grim Man that I was too late to save Rubeus and the others. It's such a tragedy."  
"No Emerald!"  
"Don't leave us!"  
"Please come back!"  
As the horrible truth of their betrayal and inevitable fate sunk in, Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica all burst into tears and did the very thing they had strangely always sharply criticized Birdy and her friends for doing ever since they had embarked on this ill-fated mission. They all threw their arms around each other and with sobs told each other how much their friendship really meant to them. They hugged, cried and declared that they dearly loved each other until the spaceship finally exploded reducing them to atoms.

Down on earth Artemis, Luna, Rini, Tuxedo Mask and the five Sailor Scouts gasped horrified to behold the sight of the explosion way up in the sky. It appeared so tiny but they knew what it meant. Now they'd have to break the awful news to the six surviving clan members who were hiding out at the temple.

Back in the future Emerald and her two brothers, Doom and Gloom, all stood before the throne upon which their shadowed prince, Diamond by name, sat. The Wiseman and the Grim Man were standing in the usual position by the prince's right hand side. The remainder of the Droid Warriors who had not gone on the mission into the past were standing off to the far left along with a man dressed in a blue jacket and grey trousers with jet-black hair. They all observed the report Emerald gave with expressions of dismay scarcely able to believe the duplicity of the four sisters and Droido and Frosty or the fact that now all the others were dead, including Rubeus himself.

Prince Diamond said with genuine sorrow in his voice, "I am deeply grieved to hear you were unable to rescue Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica Emerald. They will be remembered with highest esteem by us all along with Rhonda, Jellax and Avocado."  
"Yes Prince Diamond," said Emerald as she and her brothers bowed their heads acting innocent.  
Prince Diamond continued, "There's no time to do nothing but mourn however. You three are now in charge of capturing that pesky little girl and the crystal. And you must locate and destroy the six loathsome deserters and the Sailor Scouts to secure our victorious revenge."  
Emerald, Doom and Gloom all solemnly swore they would succeed. Then they exited the throne room to enter their own private living quarters inside the Crystal Tokyo Castle, which the clan still held reasonably successful control over.

But when they entered and shut the door behind them, they felt genuine tears form in their eyes and their hearts felt pricked with guilt. They all remembered what had taken place on a deserted asteroid years and years ago when they were all just kids.  
The Wiseman and the Grim Man had gathered them all together for a special ceremony. "We are selecting more of you to be Droid Warriors," said the Wiseman.  
"If we call your name approach Sapphire at once," said the Grim Man. "Tamara! Step forward!"  
The girl called Tamara walked forward facing the boy Sapphire with his jet-black hair. He took a blue gem and as directed by the Wiseman, he gently pulled down the collar of her dress top and pressed it into her exposed left shoulder where it grafted into place. Her skin turned pale, her hair grew long, grey and frizzy, the dark moon symbol on her forehead disappeared as a yellow lightning rod suddenly jutted out where it had been.  
The Wiseman spoke as he handed Sapphire a large double-sided drum and two electrical lightning rods attached to the gem in her shoulder by wires. "Let Sapphire strap this to your belly. We hereby rename you Thunderclap. Put these plugs in your ears to protect your eardrums and beat your drum hard. See what happens."

Sapphire and everybody else stepped back and Thunderclap began beating with all her might and to her amazement a small thunder cloud appeared overhead and emitted some flashing lightning before fading away.  
The Grim Man said, "Practice hard all the time Thunderclap. When we finish our other preparations you shall also receive a unique hairdryer that will create huge winds. When you combine it with your drum, you'll be able to produce violent thunderstorms and powerful shocks. Now Connie is to be next."  
Connie also had a blue gem pressed into her body by the boy Sapphire. This time he imbedded it into her chest below her throat. The area of her clothing faded away to nothing where the gem touched it leaving it attached to her skin, which turned light blue along with her hair, and the symbol on her forehead vanished as a gaping pocket split open where it had been. The Wiseman gave Sapphire a dagger with a curved yellow handle. "This magic blade will be holstered inside your forehead. You will gain hypnotic powers through the handle sticking out. You will also be able to use it to slash or stab. It will neatly slip in and out like a sheath."  
Sapphire inserted it smoothly like a hand going into a glove and the Grim Man said to her, "As of now your new name is Hypnotica. Now we also want Fred and George to come forward together."

Fred and George were Emerald's brothers and they obediently approached side by side. As Sapphire placed orange gems on chains around their necks, their features didn't really change in any way. But the Wiseman explained, "We have decided to make you both the only boys chosen to be part of our Droid Warrior team, although your powers are somewhat more minor compared to all the girls."  
"What exactly are our powers great Wiseman?" asked George, the dark-skinned one.  
"As long as you both continue to wear those gems like necklaces you will have the gifted ability to meld into or through the surrounding environment, particularly whatever sort of floor or ground you're standing on."  
The Grim Man added, "We charge you to keep your necklaces in a safe place when you take them off and don't lose them. We expect you to be in charge of supervising all the girl Droids. You are the leaders of the Droid forces."  
Fred and George were very delighted and honoured to be thus chosen and sank in and out of the asteroid surface laughing and cheering. "We don't want to just be known by our real names anymore either," said Fred.  
"Can you give us new names also please?" asked George.  
The Grim Man thought for a second before replying. "How do you boys like the names Doom and Gloom?"  
They both loved this suggestion. Fred wanted to be Doom and George wanted to be Gloom. So it was agreed.

Rubeus and Emerald were both delighted and they all congratulated each other merrily. "Your brothers' new names are excellent." Rubeus said to Emerald.  
"Thank you Rubeus. Your two friends are also amazing with their newly bestowed powers," replied Emerald.

She and Doom and Gloom remembered how happy and friendly they had all been as children. Lumps began to rise in their throats as they looked at each other. "Emerald," began Doom.  
She herself began to weep. "I should have saved them. I-"  
But then the sorrows and regret were quickly snatched away and they all coldly grinned and laughed together. "They're gone now brothers and they were failures. It's our turn to make up for their incompetence." Her brothers wholeheartedly agreed and back in the throne room next to Prince Diamond, the Wiseman and the Grim Man both quietly gloated as their eyes flashed deep dark red.


	15. Chapter 15

CHAPTER 15

The rest of the day had been heavily sombre for all the Sailor Scouts and Rini. After the spaceship had exploded many people watching from their windows began cheering and applauding them for their victory, not knowing the intense sorrow in their hearts. They all quickly vacated the scene just as some people tried to exit their homes and joyfully talk to them, including Tuxedo Mask, who scooped Rini up in his arms. Luna and Artemis ran away as fast as they could and the Sailor Scouts all transformed in the shadows and went to their various schools with the story that they had been rescued by the Sailor Scouts. Miss Haruna was so happy that she bent down on her knees and hugged Serena right in front of her astonished classmates including Melvin and Molly. Serena was embarrassed but she understood Miss Haruna's feelings and hugged her back, albeit blushing.

After the teacher had calmed down, class returned to normal. Miss Haruna didn't bother asking Serena any questions or to even do anything though. Serena could guess why. "She doesn't want to risk having any reason to yell at me today, after how worried and relieved she's been respectively," she thought to herself. It was just as well too, as Serena simply couldn't concentrate upon Miss H's lessons after the shock of failing to save the other clan members and seeing their presumed demise from afar.

Later when she arrived home at the Temple, it would be Raye's painful duty to inform the others and there would be plenty of tears. Especially from Catzi. Rubeus had meant the universe to her.

As for Rini, she used her ball's magic powers to realign the minds of everybody she knew in the city, so that Darien could deliver her safely to her own school with the same story of having been saved from the hostile UFO and Serena's family would require attention too. They'd be waiting for her back home with no memory of dear "Cousin Rini" since the spell had been lifted from them. Fortunately Rini knew where Dad worked, so on the way home she would use her magical powers to infiltrate his office and charm him before taking care of Mum and Sammy. But one thing worried her very much. "My Time Key is destroyed. It was with those people who perished in that explosion. When I get home I must privately contact my friend and see what she can do about getting me back home to the future now."

But there came an even more devastating twist at the end of the day when Serena and Rini had arrived home after school and Rini had gone to her room to do her homework. As she sat at her small table trying to concentrate an unnatural urge to slump forward onto her schoolbooks came over her. Then she dropped off to sleep and barely five seconds later started to scream loudly for help. "NOOOOO! GO AWAY! SOMEBODY HELP MEEEEE!"  
Mum, Serena and Sammy came running from all directions as fast as they could and they were all very upset.  
"Rini! What's the matter?" cried Mum.

As she took her into her arms she gently shook her. "Wake up Sweetie. You're having a nightmare."  
"A nightmare and it's not even after dark yet!" exclaimed Sammy in disbelief. However he and Serena became very alarmed since Rini would not respond to Mum's attempts to rouse her and she continued to shiver and shake as though in intense fear occasionally shouting for help again.  
"Rini! Please wake up!" Mum was sounding panicky.  
"Why won't she awaken?" cried Sammy.  
"On no!" gasped Serena.

The three of them put Rini inside her bed, but she thrashed and shouted messing up the covers.  
Mum cried, "This is very serious. I'm going to meet your father at his workplace and inform him of Rini's condition. I will bring him home early tonight and if things don't improve we'll seek medical assistance. In the meantime you two both stay here and keep watch over your cousin."  
Sammy and Serena said okay and Serena asked if she could ask her friends to come and help watch. Mum said it would be a good idea so Serena used the phone to call Amy.

Amy promised to pass the urgent message on and as fast as they could she, Raye, Lita and Mina made their way to Serena's house and sat by Rini's bedside helping to make sure she didn't fall off or hurt herself in any other way. Luna and Artemis were also sitting worried nearby. Serena grabbed Mina's collar and began to scream. "What are we going to do? What are we going to do? What are we going to do?"  
Just as she was saying this for a fourth time Raye exclaimed, "Serena! Stop getting hysterical! You're sounding like a recording on automatic re-play."  
Serena calmed down but grimaced as Sammy said, "I couldn't have put it better myself."  
"I'm not getting hysterical Raye and Sammy. Mum and Dad will get a doctor when they arrive home and Rini will be all right. I know she'll be all right! I know she'll be all right! I know she'll be-"  
Sammy and Raye both cried out together. "KNOCK IT OFF SERENA!"  
"It's not going to help Rini getting yourself worked up like this," declared Raye silencing Serena.  
"Yeah for now we all need to concentrate upon watching her," agreed Sammy and Serena, realizing the sober truth, did shut her mouth and turned to Rini with her hands clasped with interlocked fingers.  
But Rini began to cry out in her sleep once more. "Mummy! Please help me! The scary man shrouded in darkness is chasing me with his terrible weapon! I'm terrified! Where are you Mummy! Where is my dear friend! Help me! Help me Trista!"  
"Just as Sammy started to say, "Who is Trista?" more extraordinary things happened.

Rini's big, blue ball sprouted its antennae, rose in the air hovering over Rini's trembling body and as Sammy gasped and pointed it emitted a beam of light that illuminated him and froze him like a statue. Then a voice spoke out from the ball loudly but clearly. "Sailor Moon! There is no cause to panic!"  
Upon hearing herself referred to as Sailor Moon, Serena and her friends were all instantly alert. "Y-you know who I am?" she gasped.  
The voice continued. "I know who all of you are. You haven't seen me in centuries, but I am Trista, otherwise known as Sailor Pluto."  
Everybody gasped in surprise. "Sailor Pluto?!"

It was Amy who had cried this and Mina was next.  
"Not the Sailor Pluto who was the guardian scout of the outer planet Pluto back in the days of the Moon Kingdom?"  
This time it was Artemis who exclaimed, "Wait a minute! The four outer planets existed peacefully independant of the united Millenium Kingdom and their personal Sailor Scouts fought their battles alone right until the devastating battle led by Queen Beryl. Queen Serenity sent Serena, Darien and the other four girls into the future along with Luna and myself. But how can you possibly be still alive after all these hundreds of years?"  
The disembodied voice answered, "A fair question. Let me start at the beginning. As you are aware I was one of the four Outer Sailors along with Uranus, Neptune and Saturn. Our planets chose not to officially unite with the Moon and the inner planets but we enjoyed friendly relations and we sent Queen Serenity and King Lune-Eclipsus warning that the Youma were coming while we tried our best to hold them off. In the end with the aid of the Seven Shadow Warriors, Queen Beryl broke through our defences, inflicting heavy casualties upon our people. Tragically our leader Saturn was struck a mortal wound that was killing her, but as she lay on her deathbed, the magicians of Saturn told her and us that she would one day be re-incarnated and need to be found and awakened. They cast their strongest enchantments upon all four of us to ensure that her future rebirth was certain and that we would all stay alive without aging while we waited and searched for her. However long it took."

As Serena and her friends processed this incredible information the voice gave them even more.  
"Ever since the five of you were sent into the future after the Moon was destroyed, the surviving remnants of Venus, Mercury, Mars and Jupiter have trained up teams of armed soldiers to take the place of their vanished Sailor Scouts. Uranus, Neptune and myself have tried to protect our planets and Saturn while searching for our lost leader. The other planets have kindly sent members of their army forces to help guard our planets as we've travelled seeking our quest. But when the mother of the Small Lady Rini here, heard that her newly-formed Kingdom was under threat, she asked me as a personal favour to send Rini through the Door of Time and Space and guard it so that the enemy couldn't follow her through that same way at least. I accepted the job and all the others have obligingly been supporting the outer planets twice as much."

Serena thought to herself. Wherever Rini and her mother came from it sounded like it couldn't be too far away from all the planets including the earth. Was there another unknown planet? Or a colonized asteroid? She wondered greatly but did not voice her questions and none of the others said anything either.

Sailor Pluto's voice went on to say, "The Small Lady needs your help. The evil forces that have invaded her world in the future have forced her to enter this state of sleep and she is being attacked in the realm of her dreams. If this keeps up eventually she will be overpowered and awaken as a mind-controlled slave. She will attack you to get the Silver Crystal with no mercy. Even if it means destroying you."  
Serena and her friends all gasped and Lita said, "What can we do about it?"  
"I have the power to transport you into Rini's dreams. Between all your combined powers you must defeat the invader and set her free."  
Serena pointed to her brother's frozen form and asked, "Er. What about Sammy? And what if my parents come back soon?"  
"No need to worry Sailor Moon. He is safe and will be unharmed remembering nothing when I unfreeze him and if the others show up I will freeze them too. Now are you ready?"

The five girls all proclaimed that they would do anything to help Rini and Artemis and Luna promised to wait behind and keep close watch over her as she lay on her bed.  
So Sailor Pluto's voice said, "Here we go then. Good luck Sailor Moon and the rest of you."  
In the next second they had all vanished leaving the cats behind with Rini and Sammy.  
"I hope they are all on the alert Artemis," said Luna.  
"I am confident Luna," said Artemis. "We have trained them to use their powers well and they have accomplished great achievements in the past."  
Luna looked down at Rini and said, "I hope you are right Artemis."

Serena and her friends found themselves inside what looked like the ruins of the old Moon Kingdom. Lita said, "Where do you suppose we are?"  
Amy said, "Well the immediate answer is obviously that we're inside Rini's dream world, but this reminds me a little bit of the ruins we saw when we were shown what happened when Serenity and Lune-Eclipsus' kingdom was destroyed."  
Serena said, "You're right. It is similar but at the same time it also feels different."  
Raye said, "Well before we waste any more time let's transform and search for Rini."  
Mina said, "Agreed. Let's go."  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
"MARS POWER!"  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"VENUS POWER!"

While the five of them were setting out to locate and help Rini, the Wiseman was holding a meeting in the future with Prince Diamond and the rest of the clan. Emerald and her brothers were standing just in front of the prince's throne along with the jet-black haired man dressed in blue and the last of the Droid Warriors stood in submissive silence over at the far wall near the doors. The Wiseman himself stood with his crystal ball in front of him next to Diamond seated on his throne. Silly, vain Emerald was gazing at Prince Diamond constantly combing her hair with her pink comb. She was secretly hoping this plan that their mentors had cooked up to attack the child in her dreams would fail so that she would get a chance to impress Diamond with the help of Doom and Gloom. Diamond respected Emerald, but he really wasn't interested in her romantically. She was determined to win him over however.

The man with the black hair suddenly spoke up. "Prince Diamond. I think we're wasting our time. Why is this silly child so important to our cause? Why keep her mother alive anyway? We have her trapped. Why not just destroy her and avenge our families at once?"  
Prince Diamond smiled and said, "Because once we get the child we will get the Silver Imperium Crystal before we execute those who killed our loved ones Sapphire."  
"But why do we need the crystal for that?" Sapphire wanted to know and it was the Wiseman who answered him next.  
"You must not underestimate the value of the crystal Sapphire. Once you have it, Prince Diamond will become the new ruler of Crystal Tokyo and how fitting it will be for the Queen and all her court to see the symbol of the monarchy in Prince Diamond's hands before they are executed for their crimes."  
Prince Diamond laughed. "There you are Sapphire. Sage advice from the wisdom of the Wiseman. And as soon as the Grim Man takes full possession of that child, in no time we will have the Silver Crystal and all Crystal Tokyo will be ours."

Sapphire was confused. His mouth hung open in bamboozlement. He had never thought about taking over rulership of Crystal Tokyo and to the best of his knowledge, neither had Prince Diamond. All he ever remembered discussing together was proving that the Queen was a vicious murderer and getting her subjects to hand her over to justice. When had the Prince's desires become so vastly bigger?  
The Droids who were listening nearby all raised their eyebrows and looked at each other in similar wonder but Doom, Gloom and Emerald seemed to be infected with the same enthusaism that coursed through Prince Diamond and they smiled in eerie, wicked expressions.  
They also gloated as the Wiseman gazed into his crystal ball and said, "I can see the Grim Man clearly and he has tracked down the kid once more. She can run all she likes, but she can never hide."

Indeed Rini was screaming in terror and dismay as she beheld the sinister figure of the Grim Man, hood, cloak and enormous scythe held high above his head, floating ten feet over her. "No please! Leave me alone! Where is my mummy? And the friends who care for me?"  
The Grim Man laughed and thundered menacingly. "Nobody can save you now. You belong to me and you will become my slave and do everything I say."  
Rini stumbled backwards and fell upon her backside cringing and trembling. But as the Grim Man was preparing to swoop down upon her a loud, commanding voice rang out.

"Hold it right there!" The Grim Man turned his head and looked upwards to behold the five Sailor Scouts all standing together on the flat top of a tall stone column that seemed to have been originally part of an enormous outer portico. Three other columns of various levels of height were placed nearby and piles of crumbled stone lay in the middle. They were apparently perched upon the only full remaining column with enough of the roof for them all to stand twice as high up as the Grim Man looking down upon him.  
Sailor Moon continued to shout out. "It's not nice at all to invade people's dreams and threaten to destroy them."  
Sailor Mars added, "We know how evil you are. I have seen what you are guilty of in vision."  
Sailor Moon resumed the speech. "On behalf of the Moon and our respective planets, we will right wrongs and triumph over evil."  
All five Sailor Scouts pointed at the Grim Man and shouted together. "And that means you!"

Rini was suddenly very happy. Even in this nightmarishly invaded dream of hers she recognized the familiar figures of her loyal friends and protectors and also Sailor Moon's alter ego. "My friends and Sailor Moon," she cried out. "I know you will all save me."  
The Grim Man suddenly sent his scythe spinning at them like a deadly boomerang. They all quickly jumped into the air as it smashed the place they had been standing on. As they rose into the air before dropping to the ground in front of Rini, two of them attacked.  
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"

To their dismay though, the attacks struck the Grim Man without causing anything to happen and he reached out and caught his scythe as it came spinning back to him.  
"Oh no! Why didn't it work?"  
The Grim Man shouted in triumph. "Because I am stronger than all of you combined!"  
Rini was even more terrified than ever. If not even Sailor Moon and the other Scouts could stop him, it would be all over.  
Sailor Jupiter said, "You want to put that theory to the test? Then we will all attack you combined!"  
Sailor Moon said, "Rini. Stand well back."  
Rini did back away trembling. "O-okay. Protect me Mummy."  
Sailor Moon had not even heard these words as she prepared to fight with her friends. They threw everything at him. Sailor Moon even tried her moon scepter. Then when that didn't work, she turned it back into her tiara and desperately tried her old attack. "MOON TIARA MAGIC!"  
The Grim Man sneered as it bounced harmlessly off him. "Pathetic. Now it's my turn."  
He sent his scythe flying through the air. "EVERYBODY JUMP!" shouted Sailor Mars.  
They all desperately leaped as high as they could. Rini fell on her knees and screamed at the sight of the spinning weapon just missing their feet as it raked the ground stirring up dust. It could have sliced their feet off if they'd been two seconds slower and Sailor Moon was shaking with shock herself as they came back down to land. She barely stayed standing. Her legs were shaking so much and the Grim Man again caught his scythe on its return.

Meanwhile the Wiseman reported to the clan members that the Grim Man was fighting the Sailor Scouts. "What's going to happen Wiseman?" asked Prince Diamond.  
"Inevitably they will be destroyed your highness. The Small Lady is scared half to death and as long as her fear remains, the Grim Man will triumph."  
"Why's that?" enquired Prince Diamond.  
"Because the child does not realize that she has the power to control what takes place in the realm of her dreams. Her fear is our strongest advantage. And when she sees the Scouts die she will completely cave in and be brought under our control."  
Prince Diamond was highly pleased to hear this and Sapphire, Emerald, Doom, Gloom and the others all smiled in anticipation. Yes even Sapphire smiled. He may have had his doubts and questions about their procedures but he too yearned longingly to avenge his family members cruel and unjust murders. He wanted to savour the taste of vengeance.

Getting back to Rini, she was beginning to feel deeply terrified as the Grim Man raised his scythe and prepared to swing it down at the Sailor Scouts. "You can't defeat me, but I can destroy you!"  
With those words he attacked and the Scouts all quickly leaped in different directions as the blade tore a huge chunk out of the ground where they'd been standing. Sailor Moon noticed her tiara where it had fallen to the ground just nearby where her leap had taken her. Even though it all seemed rather hopeless, she snatched it up and as she turned it back into the scepter, she made a desperately brave attack launching herself into the air swinging the scepter to parry the scythe. The other four were all aghast, not knowing what they could possibly to do help her since every one of their own attacks had proven fruitless.

However Rini suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking within her mind and her attention was rivetted.  
"Small Lady. It's me."  
"M-my friend. Is it really you?"

Just as the Grim Man was laughing because he had turned the tables on Sailor Moon and was using his scythe like a baseball bat swinging it against her scepter, spinning her around out of control crashing to the ground, Sailor Pluto replied urgently to Rini.  
"Yes Small Lady. But there's no time for chit-chat. You must put aside your fear and trust in Sailor Moon and the others. This is your dream and you can control its outcome. As long as you show complete faith and doubt not, the Sailor Scouts will be able to defeat the Grim Man. You must believe me. It's all up to you."  
Rini knew that she could always trust her dear friend Sailor Pluto, so she gritted her teeth and shouted. "SAILOR MOON! SAILOR SCOUTS! ALL OF YOU TRASH THAT CREEPY SLIMEBALL!"  
The Sailor Scouts were all roused to action upon hearing Rini's booming display of trust and confidence and they all charged again. This time with strikingly different results.  
"MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!" The Grim Man was completely encased in shimmering ice to his own surprise.  
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"  
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!" The combined attacks of Jupiter and Venus smashed Mercury's ice wall sending the Grim Man tumbling over backwards in mid-air. Then came Mars' turn.  
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!" The Grim Man was pelted with the burning rings of fire and yelled in pain and anger as he swung at them with his scythe.  
"It's your turn Sailor Moon," urged Sailor Mars.

But Sailor Moon was amazed as she rose to her feet. "Hey. I was slammed hard into the ground. How come my back isn't broken?"  
Rini shouted out. "Because you're not in the real world Sailor Moon! You're in my dream remember? And I'm taking control of my dream. Now finish off that monster!"  
Sailor Moon snapped to attention just in time and raised her scepter successfully parrying the scythe as the Grim Man had recovered and attempted to slice her in two while everybody's attention was turned to Rini.  
Golden power drove the Grim Man back several feet from Sailor Moon and she followed up with her attack unhesitatingly.  
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
In ten seconds the Grim Man was blasted away into atoms.

Before Sailor Moon, Rini or any of the others could say anything else the scene faded away. They found themselves back in Rini's bedroom by her bedside, but still in their Sailor uniforms. They were all momentarily shocked to see Serena's parents standing in the doorway but Artemis cried out, "It's all under control Scouts!"  
Luna seconded him. "When your mother and father arrived Sailor Pluto froze them immediately, just like your brother Serena."  
Sailor Moon could see that her family were all still as statues and then the ball rose over Rini who stirred and sat up. Sailor Pluto's disembodied voice spoke once more.  
"Congratulations Sailor Scouts. You have saved the Small Lady."  
Rini reached out and took the ball in her hands. Smiling she said, "My friend. Thank you." Looking at her other friends she added, "Thank you all as well. You saved me from another terrible attack."

Then she addressed the ball once more. "But my Time Key has been destroyed. Even if I could take the crystal with me, how can I ever get home now?"  
Sailor Pluto said, "Take heart Small Lady. I shall work on something else. Sailor Scouts. I entreat you to please continue to watch over the Small Lady in the meantime and when I'm ready, will you all please accompany her on her return to Crystal Tokyo and bring the crystal?"  
"Of course we will," said Sailor Mars.  
"We will do whatever it takes to put everything right for her," agreed Sailor Jupiter and they all made the same vow in accordance.  
"Very well. You'd better all quickly transform before I bring these three people out of their current state," cautioned Sailor Pluto and in no time at all they did.  
"They will not realize anything out of the ordinary has happened. They will only be overjoyed to see that Rini as they know her, is completely better again. Farewell for now."

And with those words Sailor Pluto was gone and like she said, Mum, Dad and Sammy returned to normal and the happy atmosphere upon their beholding Rini was beyond accurate describing possibilities.  
Serena and her friends knew though that things were only going to heat up more, and they needed to watch and be ready all the time.

And as for the Black Moon Clan, even the Wiseman was taken aback when he reported to all of them what he had just seen in his crystal ball.  
"They defeated the Grim Man!?" gasped Prince Diamond rising from his throne amidst many other horrified exclamations.  
"Do you mean to say they destroyed him?" exclaimed Sapphire but the Wiseman held up his hand.  
"We may have underestimated the strength of our control over the child in her dreams, but do not think for a moment that the Grim Man has been ultimately vanquished."

Even before he was finished speaking the Grim Man materialized next to him, his scythe in his hand and all the clan members were awestruck with increased admiration.  
The Grim Man spoke. "I suffered a setback but I am indestructible. They unexpectedly won the battle, but they can never win the war."  
The Wiseman added, "Now it is up to Emerald, Doom and Gloom. We decree, Prince Diamond, that they use those time travel rings we gave them to keep trying to capture the child and destroy our enemies in the past."  
The Grim Man spoke again. "The remaining Droids shall take it in turns to accompany them, while the others maintain their control over the five major Crystal Points. The Sailor Scouts' future selves are just about all worn out. They can barely keep holding up their stand to protect the castle giving themselves rest periods to conserve their strength. They're down to only two actively charging their powers in combination against us."  
The Wiseman finished. "That should give you encouragement as you fight them in the past."  
Prince Diamond was very pleased and Emerald and her brothers pledged their utmost devotion. The other Droids all promised to obey without question or hesitation.

But their mentors had one more thing to add. They addressed Sapphire himself. "Sapphire. Grim Man and I have a special task for you."  
"What is that Wiseman?"  
"We will give you the following magical ingredients and instructions for you to use to create magic Dark Crystal Wedges. Emerald, Doom, Gloom and each Droid they select individually must carry them inside their pockets. They are for protection against any mind controlling tactics that the Sailor Scouts may try to throw against them."  
Prince Diamond jovially laughed. "You always were gifted with talents in alchemy Sapphire. I'm sure you will be glad to support us in this task."  
Sapphire felt a surge of pride. "Yes your highness. Wiseman and Grim Man. You can depend upon me."


	16. Chapter 16

CHAPTER 16

The day after the Sailor Scouts had rescued Rini from the Grim Man and been addressed by the Outer Scout Sailor Pluto, Serena had been so delighted that she said this to her. "Hey Rini. After school is finished what do you say if I meet up with you and take you out for a special treat to celebrate. You can have anything you want and it'll be on me."  
Rini was very thrilled. "Why thank you Serena. I'll spend all my free time thinking about what I want when I see you later. Bye!"  
But as Rini separated from her and turned the pathway to her own school, Serena suddenly gasped as she remembered. "Oh no! I've already used up all my pocket money earlier this week at the Video Arcade and the ice cream parlour! All I have is two dollars and sixty-five cents! Me and my big mouth!"

Later that day when Rini met up with Serena, she ran up to her and hugged her around the legs exclaiming joyously, "Hey Serena! I've decided what my treat shall be!"  
Serena bent down and gulped nervously as she placed her hand on Rini's shoulder. "What? Your treat? Oh Rini! Um, I'm kind of a little broke for now. Would a visit to the park be enough of a treat for you? It's free, may I add?"  
Rini let go and backed away from Serena in shocked protest. "You promised me I could choose my own treat! And whatever it was you would pay for it!"  
Serena grimaced and blurted, "Hey! I'm sorry I've no money."  
"You should not have made me such a promise if you couldn't afford it." Rini was so disgusted that she blew a raspberry at Serena and turned to run away.

But then she noticed Darien walking by and she called out to him. "Darien!"  
Turning he smiled and picked up Rini for a cuddle. "Hello Rini. How are you today?"  
"I'm feeling great Darien. Will you take me shopping today and buy me a special treat please?"  
"Okay Rini. I've got plenty of money on me. You can have up to sixty dollars for anything you desire today."  
"Wow! Thank you Darien. You're so generous."

As they were thus talking to each other Serena was suddenly roused with her old feelings of jealousy. She fumed inwardly with rage and only just managed to speak calmly. "Y-you're going shopping together? What a good idea. Don't mind me. I have more important things to do at home. Goodbye."  
With that she walked away leaving Darien and Rini staring at her departing back. Rini was still in Darien's arms and turning back to him she said, "Serena with more important things to do than shopping? Do you suppose she's sick?"  
"She may be so," said Darien. He sighed quietly to himself guessing what was really the problem with her.

As soon as Serena arrived home she went straight upstairs to her bedroom where she told everything to Luna. "I'm sick of that mangy, little idiot. She always holds onto my Darien whenever she's around. Well she can have him just for today. See if I care."  
And with that she threw herself onto her bed on her tummy and buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sound of her crying. Luna groaned and said reprovingly, "Serena you're pathetic. Darien must think you're crazy to put it mildly. Probably Rini does too."  
"Oh put a sock in it Luna."

Meanwhile in Crystal Tokyo, Prince Diamond was briefing Emerald and her brothers. Seated as always upon his throne he spoke. "Emerald, Doom and Gloom. The time has come for you to commence searching for the child and the Silver Crystal in the past."  
Emerald was habitually running her big, pink comb through her long, green hair and laughed. "We're ready. Aren't we boys?"  
Gloom said, "You bet Emerald."  
Doom pointed his finger at the group of Droid Warriors who had assembled at Prince Diamond's command. "We've selected which one of you will accompany us on this first trip. Marzipan. Approach us now."  
"I obey." The Droid that stepped forwards to join the trio had dark skin, red eyes, spiky purple hair and strange clothing including a piece that looked like a bikini top resembling icing dispensers. She also had a yellow miniskirt and blue and white striped leggings.

While Doom handed her a ring like the ones he and his siblings used to travel through time, Sapphire also approached from the other direction.  
"I have created a dozen of those Dark Crystal Wedges as our mentors instructed me," he said distributing them. "Each of you place one in your pocket. There's enough for the other Droids also if you ever want to send a bigger group with you."  
"Thank you Sapphire," said Emerald pocketing hers. "Now the Sailor Scouts won't be able to deceive and brainwash us."  
Sapphire grinned proudly as he looked at the green jewel with their Black Moon Clan trademark inside Marzipan's unusual hair, remembering the day when he had placed it there under the Wiseman and the Grim Man's instructions.

Prince Diamond said, "Marzipan. You be sure to do your best to help Emerald, Doom and Gloom succeed in their mission and destroy those Sailor Scouts and/or those traitors if you come across them."  
"You can count on me your highness," Marzipan solemnly vowed and as she and the others used their rings to transport, the other Droids all cheered and applauded with shouts and expressions like, "Good luck" and "For our deceased families and Rubeus and our other friends who fell in battle."  
If they knew the truth that Rubeus and his friends were dead because of Emerald, a riot would ensue.

Emerald and her brothers appeared in a darkened alley way along with Marzipan. "Okay now. Let's get going," she urged and in the twinkling of an eye they all changed clothing and all visible traces of their connection to the Black Moon Clan vanished. Emerald, Doom and Gloom were wearing very fancy clothing and large, dark sunglasses. As for Marzipan, she was now in the form of an ordinary human, with white skin, a pretty face and long, brown, curly hair.  
"Follow me," said Emerald and as they strutted proudly along the street many people turned to look at them with interest. As they made their way innocently, Doom pointed at the window of a bakery shop and said, "Look at that. This place is brand new. Just opened and for the occasion they're giving out free cake all day today."  
"Cake, eh?" said Emerald rubbing her chin. "What an excellent coincidence that we chose Marzipan to accompany us on this mission boys."  
Taking the cue Gloom turned and spoke quietly to Marzipan. "We need to search diligently for the child and there's a good chance she will come to visit this bakery today. If you use your influence to get yourself a job here, you can use your gifted talents to set a trap and make sure all the innocent people are safely protected if we need to deal with the Sailor Scouts while watching out for the brat."  
"I am at your service, my commanders. Perhaps we shall even capture and destroy the six who betrayed us?"

With these words Marzipan walked into the shop and Emerald, Doom and Gloom all grinned and winked at each other.  
There was no chance of Rebecca, Julie and the four sisters getting mixed up in what was coming though. They were all safely in hiding at the Cherry Hill Temple and currently deeply grieving the deaths of Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica. However they were right about Rini and the Sailor Scouts. They would definitely be on the scene.

It just so happened that Serena's four friends knew all about this offer because they had been out walking together and had noticed it. They knew that Serena would be so furious if she missed out on it all, so they called her on their personal communicator devices.  
As soon as she heard the news, Serena suddenly leaped off her bed exclaiming loudly. "All the cake I want for free? Really? Then I'll be joining you all as soon as I can possibly get there."  
"Okay Serena. We'll be waiting for you at an inside table," said Mina as she hung up.  
Raye couldn't help but grumble as soon as Serena could not possibly hear. "I just hope she doesn't eat too much and make herself sick."  
Artemis inside his carry basket cautioned them all. "Don't any of you eat too much. You don't want to find yourselves bursting out of your Sailor uniforms."  
"Relax Artemis. We're sensible girls." Mina assured him before they all walked into the shop and found a table. Mina set Artemis' basket down next to her chair and they all selected some cake from the self service displays in the middle of the room and sat down to wait for Serena.

Emerald, Doom and Gloom were also seated at their own table. Things were going swell. The staff had accepted Marzipan among themselves without question thanks to their magic mind controlling powers and they were eating some cake themselves. "This is delicious," remarked Gloom.  
"Best I've ever tasted," agreed Doom.

After awhile Serena arrived puffing and panting along with Luna who was also out of breath from running to keep up with her. "W-why did you have t-to rush so f-f-fast Serena?" Luna quietly asked by her feet just outside the door.  
Breathing very slow and deep to catch her breath Serena answered, "Because cakes are just what I need right now Luna to take my mind off Rini spending time with Darien. Let me at them!"  
"Oh no." Luna shut her eyes and groaned as Serena barged into the shop.

It was about this time that Emerald had said to her brothers, "That cake is delectable. I think I'll get myself some more."  
"Sure. Help yourself Emerald." Doom and Gloom smiled and over on the opposite side of the big room, Serena's friends were wondering when she'd turn up.

In only about five minutes voices were saying things like, "What the?", "Look at that woman and that teenager!" and "Why they're acting like greedy pre-schoolers! Disgraceful."  
Doom and Gloom and Lita, Raye, Amy and Mina were all horrified to behold Emerald and Serena leaning over all the cake selections and cramming their mouths full. They jumped up to stop their respected associate each. Emerald began to yell. "What are you two doing? Leave me alone!"  
"Please sis. You're making a spectacle of yourself," begged Doom as he and Gloom each held their sisters' arms.  
Likewise Serena also objected. "Stop it and let me eat! I need it badly today."  
All the time two of her friends were each attached to one of her arms. "Stop Serena. You're getting carried away and being a pig," said Mina and Raye moaned saying it was worse than she had feared.  
Luna joined Artemis over by the table feeling ashamed of Serena. "It's pathetic Artemis."  
"Yeah. I agree Luna."

As Emerald and Serena struggled they broke free and shoved their restrainers aside. Gloom collided with Mina back to back with grunting and gasping, while Lita only just managed to stop herself from fully losing her balance. She turned to help Mina and apologized to Gloom. Meanwhile Amy and Raye fell on the floor, but Doom was able to stay upright on his feet miraculously. Just as Emerald was reaching for another cake she realized most of the people had left their seats and were staring coldly at her with disapprovement. So did Serena and they both began to blush deeply embarrassed. Emerald placed her pink comb in front of her mouth and nervously laughed. Serena was staring at the floor saying nothing.

Doom and Gloom quickly recovered and embraced Emerald between them and Gloom addressed the crowd. "We're sorry. Our sister lost control of her desire for sweeties."  
Emerald began to cry. "I'm so ashamed of myself."  
Gloom kissed her on the forehead where their upside-down crescent mark usually could be seen, but now magically hidden. Doom comforted her. "It's all right. Everybody has a moment of weakness sometime Emerald. Come and sit back down and have a cup of coffee."  
Serena too expressed regret over her pigginess and her friends said it was all right now.  
The crowd softened and smiled while Emerald and Serena were gently led to their tables. Doom and Gloom gave Emerald tissues to wipe her eyes and blow her nose and made her a coffee to calm her down.

As for Serena she took some cakes with her on a plate. However to her friends consternation, she still stuffed and gorged herself at the table with them though she always went back with her plate when she wanted more instead of pigging where everybody could see her. She was complaining to the other girls along with Artemis and Luna about what had happened between her, Darien and Rini. But she neglected to mention the part about her broken promise of a treat for Rini. Funnily enough, when she had told everything to Luna at home even then the story had not included this vital point. They were wondering what they should say to Serena and all the time Emerald, now comforted and relaxed, was watching closely along with Doom and Gloom to see if Rini would enter and Marzipan kept glancing at their table for indication to act as she wheeled out trolley after trolley of cakes to replenish the stock as the people all ate as much as they pleased.

Finally the moment they had been watching out for paid off. Darien led Rini into the bakery. "Here you are Rini," he told her. "We can relax and have some free cake after our shopping excursion."  
"Oh thank you Darien." Rini was holding her ball as usual as well as the parcel containing the pretty red dress that Darien had bought her for her treat and Emerald, Doom and Gloom casually stood up and left their table walking outside, as Rini noticed Serena and the others. "Hey! Look Darien. Everybody's here too."

She and Darien went over to the girls' table to say hello. After they all greeted them warmly, Rini began to criticize Serena in her usual teasing manner. "I suppose you ate as much cake as an elephant Serena."  
Serena became very resentful. "It's none of your business how much I ate, you little virus. But it's all because of you that I ate so much and disgraced myself in front of everybody present when I first arrived."  
"Because of me? What do you mean?"  
"You know very well what I mean, you shrimp."

Well in spite of Serena's warped reasoning, Rini really had no idea whatsoever as to what she meant. To her it sounded like Serena was being silly and fussy over nothing at all. This coupled with the resentment she felt at being called names such as virus and shrimp made her lash out at Serena by sticking out her tongue and blowing a huge raspberry. Serena sprang up out of her chair and began to blow them back at her and the other girls and the two cats all began to groan.  
People were beginning to stare at them and somebody said something about complaining to the staff about this disturbance. It was even worse than before. Darien began desperately to try to break up the argument when suddenly something else far bigger happened.

Doom and Gloom came rising up out of the floorboards and their sister materialized in between them startling everybody. They were dressed in their normal clothing and Emerald shouted, "Marzipan has placed all the people working in the kitchens to sleep. Now let's do the same to all the customers so we can grab the kid."

As they raised their arms and concentrated together sending magical waves of energy washing over the crowds of screaming people, Luna and Artemis yelled at the girls. "Quickly! All of you run outside with us! Don't let them put you to sleep!"  
They didn't waste any time. Already the other customers were slumping to the floor as they rose up standing or those still in their seats were collapsing face down upon the tables they were seated at. Fortunately the trio were also side tracked with making sure those whose faces collapsed inside their plates of cake didn't smother and die of suffocation perchance. So while Doom and Gloom were tending to the people ensuring they had clear airways and Emerald was maintaining the flow of the magic, their attention was diverted to the fact that Darien had picked up Rini in his arms and run out the entrance door, followed by Serena and her friends. Furthermore Raye had summoned up a psychic shield to help protect them as they all ran past and outside with their feline guardians.

By the time Emerald or either of her brothers had realized that anybody had made an unanticipated move of escape, especially taking Rini with them, the last of them were going through the doorway to freedom.  
"Hey! The brat's gone!" cried Emerald.  
"What?" exclaimed Doom.  
"Outrageous!" added Gloom and Emerald raised her voice.  
"Droid Marzipan! Get out here at once!"  
Marzipan came bursting out of the kitchens in obedient response. "You shouted Emerald?"  
She too was now looking the way she usually did personally having abandoned her disguise and even as Emerald was screaming, "The brat's now missing!", Sailor Moon and her friends came running back inside fully transformed. Rini had agreed to go with Luna and Artemis to a place of safety while the Sailor Scouts took care of the clan members.

As soon as the Scouts all skidded to a stop, Sailor Moon began to try to talk to the enemy. "Hey wait now. We want to tell you all something."  
But immediately Emerald pointed at them and yelled, "Marzipan! Get them at once! Before they try to ambush us with a trick!"  
Sailor Moon desperately pleaded. "Stop! You must hear us out! It's important!"  
"They're not buying it Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars was doing her best to get her charms ready, but Marzipan was raising her arms, which turned into icing dispensers. She fired both barrels shooting Sailors Moon and Mars with thick, sticky icing.  
"Oooh. I don't like being stuck in this sweet goo," groaned Sailor Moon.  
"Somebody do something!" shouted Sailor Mars.  
Sailor Venus began to make a defensive attack and so did Sailor Jupiter. But while they were preparing their moves, Doom and Gloom sank into the floor and rose back out, one behind each of the Scouts' backs and seized her tightly.  
Venus was cut off in the middle of summoning her love chain encircle attack and she struggled and grunted vainly in Doom's strong arms.  
Sailor Jupiter was no pushover however and she gave Gloom a big surprise when she judo flipped him over onto his back and shouted out "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"

Emerald shouted at Marzipan to dodge and she jumped aside, not realizing that Jupiter never intended to hit her. In fact to Sailor Jupiter's shock Marzipan unfortunately happened to jump aside in the very place in which she had really been aiming. The lightning charge was supposed to have exploded a few feet in the air to her left, and she unwittingly leaped right into it. Marzipan screamed in pain and she fell over backwards stunned. As Emerald charged like an enraged bull, Sailor Mercury used her old, milder sort of attack on her. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"  
Emerald was halted in her tracks by the onrushing, cold fog of bubbles.  
But what was happening to Sailor Venus? What would Doom do to her?"

Sailor Mercury desperately turned around but to her relief she saw that Darien had become Tuxedo Mask and foregoing the rigmarole of tricks with roses, he had swooped down on Doom from behind and had used his cane to pry him off Sailor Venus. Doom was struggling and groaning with the solid cane pulled back painfully upon his chest by Tuxedo Mask who was grasping it with both his arms. Tuxedo Mask gasped and called out. "Sailor Mercury! Hurry and use your water powers to wash the icing off Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars.  
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!" Sailor Mercury sent a wave of water flowing over their two friends that dissolved the icing freeing their arms and legs.  
"Well done Mercury." Sailor Mars quickly threw four of her special charms in all directions to rest upon Emerald, Doom, Gloom and Marzipan. "Now quickly heal them Sailor Moon!" she shouted.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!" Sailor Moon confidently attempted to activate Raye's charms to reveal the truth to them but the results were devastatingly disappointing.

Emerald tore off her charm snarling with rage. "Your mind control won't work on us. We have been given special protection."  
Doom and Gloom were also recovering, but Marzipan was still weakened by Jupiter's electric shock and feebly cried out, "Help me."  
As everybody stood horrified at this turn of events, Emerald walked over to Marzipan and lifted her wobbly to her feet. Supporting her she said, "The Dark Crystal Wedges Sapphire gave us all have worked wonders but for now we'd best retreat. We don't want to risk any harm coming to all these innocent people. Let's go brothers. I'll help our Droid."

Concentrating hard on their magic rings, Doom and Gloom transported themselves back to the future in a blinking of the eyes. Emerald was holding Marzipan and telling her to try to concentrate while she helped with her ring as well as her own. It was at least ten seconds before she was able to activate her ring and Marzipan's ring at the same time. The Sailor Scouts certainly would have had the chance to attack them again, but they didn't want to. Instead Sailor Moon begged them to wait. "Please don't go."  
But they did not listen of course, and as soon as they departed all the customers and staff came out of their trances, some astonished to find cake all over their faces.

Tuxedo Mask had already quickly ran off but the Sailor Scouts were left behind to give an awkward explanation to the people as they noticed them and cried out asking what was going on.  
"You were all put into a deep sleep by some unknown enemy. But we drove them away and saved you," said Sailor Moon and her friends backed up her story.

Everybody cheered and thanked them and the staff all gave them a huge chocolate cake to share between them. They all sat at a table together and ate while the people all talked among themselves with admiration and heroine worship.  
But even though the cake was delicious each one of the girls was troubled in her mind. They had failed to save poor Rubeus and his two friends before they suddenly died and now they had failed again. What would become of the clan members they had fought just now? Would they be able to save anymore of them at all?


	17. Chapter 17

CHAPTER 17

Emerald, Doom and Gloom appeared before Prince Diamond's throne for briefing. The Droid Warrior who had accompanied them, Marzipan was still a little shook up from her experience with Sailor Jupiter's Thunderclap Zap, but she was beginning to recover and Diamond directed her to join the other Droids on the far left side of his throne. Sapphire was standing alone on the far right and Emerald and her brothers stood in the center to be addressed by their prince.

"It seems like we need to make a good plan for a strong move against those Sailor Scouts," he began. "From what you've told me you were all very lucky to survive and escape back here, especially Marzipan."  
Marzipan silently nodded her head in agreement and the other Droids all placed their hands on her shoulders in mutual affection and sympathy. Except for one particular Droid who strangely had a long, sharp, dangerous looking scalpel and a giant needle resembling a syringe instead of hands. She couldn't safely touch Marzipan, but she spoke to her.  
"Thank goodness you're still alive. Too many of us have died already. And I'm happy Emerald and the others are safe and here with us also."  
Prince Diamond smiled as everybody turned to look at her when she spoke. "Thank you Injector. I know that we all share your kind sentiments."  
The Droid called Injector smiled back at his thoughtful response.

Then Gloom said, "This is all very well. But now we need to formulate a successful strategy."  
As soon as he finished speaking the Wiseman and the Grim Man materialized in their midst and they all acknowledged their mentors with a bow, bending their upper torsos.  
Prince Diamond himself did not bow sitting on his throne, but he respectfully addressed them. "Welcome Wiseman and Grim Man. As usual we seek your advice in our great mission."  
"Our pleasure your Highness," said the Wiseman. "We have come up with a plan to lure the Sailor Scouts to their destruction and it will involve Droid Warrior Regalia."

From the ranks stepped a dark-skinned Droid with long, purple hair tied into a ponytail, a yellow headband, blue skirt, red eyes, slashes of yellow make-up on her face and a large pink star painted over one eye. A blue Dark Moon gem was imbedded just underneath her throat. "I am at the service of our cause," she boldly proclaimed and Emerald, Doom and Gloom all grinned in anticipation.  
The Grim Man went on to explain what the scheme was. "We want Regalia to disguise herself as the owner of a new store that specializes in selling Love Bracelets and also teaching people how to make them. When you have distributed enough of them, you will use your magic power to infect all your customers with a mild surge of electrical shock."

Regalia gasped and so did everybody else. She struggled to speak. "Er. But Grim Man. That sounds abusive."  
Emerald added, "I agree. They are not our enemies. They didn't kill our loved ones."  
The others all began to murmur but the Wiseman waved his hands over his crystal ball and the Grim Man raised his scythe. Their eyes glowed sinister red and everybody was silenced as the next words they spoke bore into their brains and quelled all their objections.  
The Wiseman began. "It is necessary to resort to desperate measures sometimes. It will only be a mild mass attack. They will all recover and they won't suffer too much pain."  
The Grim Man continued in a silky hypnotic manner. "The Sailor Scouts will be attracted to the scene and you will be able to destroy them. Avenge your families."

Regalia had a glazed look in her red eyes and she slurred, "Avenge my family."  
Emerald, her brothers and all the other Droids echoed the same sentiment. Sapphire did so too, albeit with some hesitation. He had reservations but he succumbed reluctantly to the mind control.  
Prince Diamond leaped up from his throne in ecstasy. "Yes! It is a foolproof plan!" He thanked the two evil beings immensely and said to Sapphire, "Give a Dark Crystal Wedge to Regalia for her protection and then she will be on her way to the past with Emerald, Doom and Gloom. It is worth causing a small amount of hurt for the greater good of bringing the Sailor Scouts to justice, For our families!"  
He raised his fist in the air and as the rest of the clan all echoed his shout, "For our families!", the eyes of the Wiseman and the Grim Man began to flash red on and off as they quietly laughed together.

Molly and Melvin both placed a Love Bracelet on Serena's desk at school during free period. "See what Melvin and I made for each other Serena?"  
Serena was amazed. They were made of various thin strands of coloured string all woven into different patterns. "They're so adorable. So why do you call them Love Bracelets?"  
Melvin answered in his scientific manner. "As you weave the strands together you think about the person who means the most to you. When you're finished and whenever you tie it around your wrist, it is said that it will produce positive love energy that will either restore a broken relationship or else strengthen an already existing relationship. Just like they've done with Molly and myself."  
Molly smiled brightly. "Yes. When Melvin and I made ours together we could feel ourselves bonding even tighter with every strand we were joining."  
Serena looked around the classroom and saw that just about everybody else was either wearing one or making one. Even Miss Haruna was engrossed in weaving her very own Bracelet at her desk. She had recently met a very nice young man and after their first date she was hoping this would make her inseparably attractive to him, even though he himself hadn't been interested in making a Bracelet of his own.  
"How do you go about learning to make these things?" she asked her friends. "Darien and I fell apart for awhile, but we've been back together recently and sometimes I worry about it happening again over some silly, trivial matter." She blushed sheepishly as she said this. It wasn't a thing she'd openly admitted to any of her other friends before. Not even Luna. It had sort of slipped out of her mouth to Melvin and Molly before she knew it.

But her friends didn't say anything to make fun of her for it. That's not the sort of friends they were. Melvin merely answered her enquiry.  
"There's this new store in Denzie Street run by this woman who sells them Serena. She also teaches you how to make them. As her special offer on the occasion of her opening for the first three days you can have your lessons free of charge."  
"That's what Melvin and I have experienced along with everybody else Serena. Even Miss Haruna."  
Serena turned her head to look at Miss H. concentrating closely on her Bracelet. She knew her mind was made up. "Today after school I'm going to go there and get my free introductory lesson while the offer is still valid."  
Molly and Melvin wished her good luck.

Later while leaving school, Serena met up with her two friends who also attended the same institution, Amy and Lita. Serena couldn't refrain from telling them where she was going and they said they'd love to go too.  
"I'd like to make a special Bracelet in honour of my boyfriend Greg. I'll show it to him on my wrist while we next talk on Skype," said Amy.  
"And I'll make one too. Perhaps it will help me find a steady boyfriend of my own," said Lita in a hopeful voice.  
"Very well then. Come with me." Serena led the way with a broad, eager grin on her face and Amy and Lita had to practically march to be able to keep up with her.

"Wow! What a huge building!" exclaimed Amy when they arrived. They had to crane their necks up to see the very top.  
"It's been an office complex for ages and ages. Apparently the Love Bracelet store is on the top floor just under the roof," said Lita.  
Serena was astounded. "You mean to tell me that the people who manage the offices actually permitted this business to use part of their building for their store? That's very unusual!"  
Lita and Amy agreed but Amy added, "They say that they are renting the floor out to the owner of the business Serena, and they assert that they are receiving money. So it appears to be legitimate."  
"Well let's go then," urged Lita and the three of them walked inside and took the elevator all the way to the top floor.

The Black Moon Clan had thought of everything. Emerald and her brothers had hypnotized all the people, employers and employees, so that they agreed to rent the area to Regalia. But they were not actually paying them any rent money. They just honestly believed that they were receiving payment. The facade would not work indefinitely of course. Eventually it would become clear that they did not have as much money as they should have done while dealing with expenses. But they only needed two days time at the most before springing their trap for the Sailor Scouts. This meant that all they should have paid was the initial bond fee before the first months rent was even due.

Serena, Lita and Amy stepped out of the elevator and saw a big sign with a yellow arrow saying, "This way for Love Bracelet Charms."  
They knocked on the door and a dark-skinned man opened it. It was Gloom, but he was heavily disguised with a false big, black beard. His brother Doom was standing behind the front desk and his face was concealed behind a false big, brown beard. They were also wearing elegant three piece suits with ties and shiny shoes. Doom's were white and Gloom's were black. They had made themselves up to appear completely different from the way they had appeared at the bakery with Emerald. The girls did not recognize them. But Doom and Gloom remembered them. They had no idea of their secret identities however.

"Welcome." Gloom smiled as he greeted them and Doom in turn walked out from behind the desk, also smiling cheerfully.  
"How can we help you girls?"  
Serena was tongue tied with nervous excitement, but Lita spoke for them all. "We'd like to join the classes for making Love Bracelets please."  
"We thought so," said Doom. "Almost everybody who comes is interested in learning the art of it all."  
Gloom pointed to a door in the nearby wall. "Just straight through there and you'll find the classroom where our boss is teaching everyone."  
Amy said, "Thank you kind sirs. Let's go Lita and Serena."  
Serena found her confidence and said, "Y-yeah. Come on! Let's go!" Then she laughed happily as she and her friends passed through the door leaving Doom and Gloom behind.

Inside Serena and her friends found many tables and chairs around which kids were seated along with a small handful of adults. A tall white-skinned woman wearing a pink and yellow shirt and blue trousers turned to greet them. Her reddish-brown hair was tied up in a ponytail similar to that of the Droid Regalia. Indeed it was Regalia disguised as a human and she smiled at them.  
"Hello girls. Welcome to my classes. So you want me to tutor you today?"  
"Yes that's right. We heard about the Love Bracelets at school and we're very keen to learn," said Lita.  
Regalia indicated a table with plenty of room. "Well then, since you're friends I think you'd all like to sit together."

They all took their seats and began to try weaving the strings as Regalia directed them.  
Amy was very impressive. "Goodness me! Are you sure you've never done this before? You're a natural wonder!" Regalia was truly amazed.  
Lita struggled a little bit with the directions for her first two tries. Regalia explained what to do ever so clearly. "Cut ten pieces of string and each one should be three feet long. Then take the center of the string and weave them through and up exactly like this. And repeat it twice."  
Lita botched her first two weavings, but she concentrated very hard and declared triumphantly, "Hey! The third time's a charm! I did it right!"  
Regalia complimented her. "You certainly did. It can be difficult I know. Even though it looks easy, but keep practicing."  
Serena however was not lucky on her third try. Or her fourth or even fifth try. After her sixth failed attempt she said, "I just can't get it. It's all twisted up in a mess."  
Regalia thought for a moment and said to her, "Well perhaps you should begin with the one that's usually given to little kids. Then when you've done that a few times it may help you get ready to tackle the actual proper Bracelet for older people."  
"Okay." Serena listened to the new instructions.  
"Take two strings and weave them together just like so. Then repeat it two more times before adding another string."  
But all Serena managed to do was somehow tie her three middle fingers together on one hand. As she wailed and moaned Regalia felt very uncomfortable and Lita and Amy quietly groaned to themselves. Serena's stupid incompetence embarrassed them sometimes.

Regalia just walked away from Serena and spent the rest of her time talking to others. She simply couldn't believe that girl Serena. Until she announced that the store was closing for the day, Serena spent all her time trying and failing to make a decent start on her Love Bracelet. In the end she merely lay face down on her table half sobbing with frustration. But Amy and Lita both successfully managed to finish theirs and had them tied to their wrists.  
"Well done you two," Regalia complimented them both. "I'm very impressed."  
"Thank you," said Amy.  
"I feel so satisfied with myself," Lita grinned broadly and Serena groaned.  
"The rest of you can take yours home and finish working at your leasure," said Regalia.  
Serena muttered to herself. "I had no idea this would be so difficult. Just as well it cost me nothing. I don't think I'll be coming back at all."  
Regalia was somewhat indignant, but she kept quiet. "There's always one hopeless pessimist," she thought. "They give up before trying hard enough."  
She waved goodbye and wished them all good luck with their projects. Doom and Gloom, still disguised, also wished them the very best as they departed.  
"Have fun."  
"See you next time."

Once the door was shut Gloom added quietly as Emerald materialized in the presence of them all. "Not that there's going to be a next time. Tonight we make our move."  
"That's right," Emerald agreed, and the others all shed their disguises. Doom and Gloom passed their hands across in front of their faces and their false beards vanished and their clothes changed to what they usually wore.  
Regalia's skin was once more dark with her usual make-up as well as her hair and clothing and she earnestly agreed. "Yes. I will activate the magic tonight. As long as each person is wearing their Bracelet, and most of them probably will be, they will be incapacitated with the pain and the shock. And anybody else who tries to help them will be forced back and away. They will be zapped upon contact, so the Bracelets won't be able to be removed."

Emerald continued their train of talk. "And when the Sailor Scouts hear about this, they're sure to make the common connection to this store and they will come here to investigate tonight."  
"Where I shall be ready and waiting to destroy them," Regalia finished smirking. But then she sighed. "It's a pity we have no choice but to resort to this. I hope the Scouts show up quickly so those poor people don't need to suffer for too long."  
Emerald and her brothers all sighed in agreement. "I hope so too," she said.  
Doom said, "The three of us will be in hiding nearby while you fight Regalia."  
Gloom promised, "And if it looks like things go badly we will be sure to come to your rescue."  
"Thank you. I'm so lucky to have friends and allies like you."  
"We're all friends and allies Regalia. Our clan is a family," said Emerald running her big pink comb through her hair.  
Regalia said, "I hope we can later track down and execute those despicable traitors to our clan. We are responsible to make them pay out of respect to the memory of dear Rubeus and all other lost friends."  
Emerald, Doom and Gloom all felt a sudden palpitation of their hearts at the mention of Rubeus' name, but they composed themselves and if Regalia noticed anything she misinterpreted it.  
"That's right," said Emerald calmly. "I'm sure we'll somehow find where they are hiding. And the girl Rini as well. But for now make your preparations Regalia. At 7:30 sharp we strike."  
"Yes Emerald."

Meanwhile Lita and Amy had said goodbye to Serena and gone home wearing their Bracelets. Serena had taken hers home and spent another twenty minutes dejectedly attempting to finish it. But no good. "This is hopeless," she moaned at the table while Dad was reading a magazine, Mum was cooking dinner, Sammy was playing games on the wii in the nearby living room and Rini and Luna were standing nearby, quietly watching. Dad put down his magazine and said, "You really can't get the hang of it Serena? Would you like me to try? I used to do similar things with strings in artwork classes when I was a much younger man."  
Mum turned her head while she was stirring the contents of the pot on the stove and said, "He was very good too Serena. He made many adorable decorative mobiles using weaved string to hold the pieces together."  
"Do you have the instructions Serena? I'll take a look."  
Serena did have the written instructions on a slip of paper. "Okay Dad. Here they are."  
She handed them to him and he read them carefully. "Very well. I'll try Serena."  
Serena watched entranced as well as Rini and Luna as Dad toiled hard and he slowly began to create a Love Bracelet from the strings.

At 6:00 Mum said, "Put that aside for now. Dinner's ready everybody. Sammy! Time to eat!"  
Sammy saved his game on the wii's records and came to take his seat at the kitchen table. Dad put the Bracelet to the side promising to go upstairs with Serena to finish weaving it in her room on her pleadings.  
"Yes. Yes. I'll do that Serena. Calm down though. The world will stay in one piece while we eat dinner you know."  
Mum served a delicious roast and vegetables meal with custard and jelly for dessert. Even Serena enjoyed it heartily realizing how genuinely hungry she was and Luna had her usual bowl of milk.  
Rini was very curious about the Love Bracelet. She determined to herself that she wanted to go with Serena to watch Dad finish it.  
By the time the meal was over it was 6:45 and Serena reluctantly agreed to allow Rini to go to her room while Dad finished making her Bracelet for her. All the while time was slowly ticking away until the attack due at 7:30.

At 7:15 Dad was finished. "There," he proudly proclaimed as he held it up. "What do you think Serena and Rini?"  
"It looks good," said Rini admiringly and Serena was very happy.  
"Thank you Dad. It's brilliant."  
She reached out and took it from her father's hand, but Rini said, "Serena. Would you mind if I held your Bracelet and looked closely at it for just about fifteen minutes or so?"

Now the truth was that Serena really did mind. It was her Bracelet and she wanted to begin wearing it straight away. But she realized that Dad had heard Rini's request and she knew exactly what he was about to say.  
She quietly groaned to herself as Dad grinned broadly and replied, "Sure Rini. Why not? Let her hold it Serena until 7:30. Then she can give it back to you."  
Serena felt very resentful as she handed it over and Rini snatched it enthusiastically as if she was claiming it. Watching her tie it around her wrist with Dad's help she thought, "The arrogant little monster. It's going to feel like at least a full hour to me by the time fifteen minutes are finished. At 7:30 I'm putting it straight on my own wrist."

All the same she couldn't help but grumble a little. "I thought you only wanted to hold it. What's it doing around your wrist?"  
But Dad gently reprimanded her. "Now now Serena. Don't be like that. As soon as 7:30 comes, I'll help change it over to your wrist."  
"Yeah keep calm Serena," smirked Rini. So Serena clenched her teeth and fought hard to quietly wait out the full fifteen minutes.

But when it was only a minute to go Regalia set off the magic hidden in the Bracelet and Rini began to scream in pain. "I-it hurts! Help meeee!"  
"Rini! What's wrong?" Dad instinctively tried to help her but as soon as he touched her, he recoiled in shock with a gasp.  
Serena and Luna were horrified and Serena cried out, "What's happening Dad?"  
"I don't know Serena. When I tried to help poor Rini I felt a nasty shock hit me. It must be the shock that's running through her body. Stay here and keep an eye on her while I go and tell Mum. Don't try touching her."  
Dad raced out the door and down the stairs as Rini struggled to get the Bracelet off. "It feels like it's coming from this thing on my wrist. I can't remove it. AAAAAAHHHH!"  
Rini collapsed to the floor in agony and as Serena was exclaiming, "Oh no! What'll we do Luna?", a familiar spectral figure materialized. The ghost of Nephlite.  
"Sailor Moon. I waited for your father to leave. Molly is in pain, just like this small girl here."  
"Molly? Oh dear Nephlite! What'll we do Luna?"  
Luna said, "Call the Sailor Scouts of course Serena."

Just then Mum came running up the stairs with Dad and even Sammy. Nephlite quickly vanished before he could be spotted. Mum was almost hysterical, Wiping tears from her eyes with her apron. "This is terrible. The poor little girl is suffering so badly."  
Dad held Sammy back as he made a lunge forward. "It's no good Sammy. You'll only be zapped like I was."  
"But what'll we do Dad?"  
"Mum and I will call the hospital and see if they can help. Serena, you and Sammy keep watch over Rini. But no matter what happens, do not touch her."  
Sammy agreed but Serena asked to be excused to use the bathroom a moment. Her family agreed, so while Mum and Dad raced back downstairs to use the telephone and Sammy was looking at Rini with shock and disbelief, Luna followed Serena to the bathroom.

Once they closed the door behind them, Nephlite reappeared. Serena pulled her communicator out of her pocket where she always carefully concealed it and began to call her friends while he silently watched.  
First she tried Lita, but Lita wouldn't answer. So she called Mina and explained the situation.  
Mina said, "I will try to call Amy, Serena. You call Raye."  
Serena called Raye and Raye immediately ran to consult the Sacred Fire. Meanwhile Mina called back Serena. "Something's wrong Serena. I can't get Amy to answer her communicator either."

While Serena was reacting in horror, Raye called back and spoke to both of them. "The Sacred Fire tells me that these strange random attacks are coming from the new store that deals with Love Bracelets."  
Serena gasped. "Molly and Melvin each made a Bracelet. So did Amy and Lita. And Rini was wearing mine when the attack started."  
Mina said, "So it must be the Bracelets. That explains why Amy and Lita wouldn't answer us. They're in the same boat."  
Raye said, "Wait there for us Serena. Mina and I will come as the Sailor Scouts and tell your family that Sailor Moon and the others need you to come and show us where the Love Bracelets are made. We'll be there as soon as possible."  
"Okay."  
As she hung up her communicator Nephlite said, "I will be there to help you too. You need support with two of your numbers incapacitated."  
Serena and Luna both thanked Nephlite, then Serena made her way back to her room before Sammy began to get suspicious of how long she was taking.

So as soon as Sailor Mars and Sailor Venus knocked on the door, Serena's parents were so happy when they saw them. "We've just been on the phone to the hospital Sailor Scouts. They've told us that many other people have succumbed to the same sort of thing and they can't do anything to help them," explained Dad.  
"Can you do something?" Mum asked hopefully.  
Sailor Mars presented their planned story. "Sailor Moon has sent the two of us to ask your daughter Serena to help us. We suspect that the Love Bracelets have something to do with it and we want Serena to show us where they come from."  
Dad and Mum looked at each other. Then turning back to the two Scouts Dad said, "We trust you with all our hearts. If you need Serena's assistance, then we know you will watch over her safely. Mum go and fetch her."  
Mum ran up the stairs and next minute Serena came down and pledged herself to aiding the Sailor Scouts.  
"Please hurry for the sake of little Rini," implored Mum. She was beginning to cry knowing how much pain she was in.  
"We will. Come with us Serena." Sailor Venus pulled Serena along after Sailor Mars. When they were out of sight and sound Serena transformed and as Sailor Moon went racing with the other two to the building where Regalia was performing her magic arts up at the top floor.

Artemis was waiting for them and Luna was right behind the Sailor Scouts. "Hurry up you three." He urged commandingly. "There's no time to waste."  
"What should we do Artemis?" asked Sailor Mars. "The building is all locked up and our target is on the top floor."  
But then the front doors suddenly opened by themselves.  
"Well I suppose that settles that question," said Sailor Venus. "The clan obviously did all this to attract our attention. They want us to go to them."  
Sailor Moon shuddered with a grimace. "How creepy. Inviting us into their own parlour like flies entering a spider web."  
"No time for talking Sailor Moon," cried Luna. "Think of Rini and all the other poor victims."  
"Yes, including dear sweet Molly," said a sudden familiar voice. It was Nephlite.  
The Sailor Scouts and the cats all looked around but couldn't see anything. Nephlite spoke again. "I'm invisible for now. Let's get moving. Every second counts."  
Jolted into action they all rushed inside. When they were gone Emerald materialized where they had all been standing outside. She laughed as she combed her hair. "They're inside now. Regalia is waiting for them and my brothers are in hiding ready to strike as well. They are trapped."

Sailor Moon, Sailor Venus, Sailor Mars, Luna and Artemis all made their way carefully up the stairs. "Keep your wits about you girls," cautioned Artemis. "There may be an ambush possibly set up before we even reach the room on the top floor."  
Luna seconded this. "Be very careful."  
"I'll be sure to warn you if there's anything suspicious," said the disembodied voice.  
"Thank you Nephlite," said Sailor Mars with her high heels in her hand as usual, and so they proceeded. But meanwhile a familiar cloaked and masked figure was leaping from rooftop to rooftop. With superhuman abilities he jumped and soared through the air landing on the top of the building's roof. Tuxedo Mask looked around him then proceeded to pick the lock to the door leading to the stairway down to the immediate floor below with of all things, the stem of a rose. In about twelve minutes the lock clicked opened and he descended the stairs. He stood hiding in the shadows waiting for Sailor Moon and the others to pass him first on their way to the room Regalia was in. As usual he would back them up after they made the first move.

Regalia was feeling twistedly happy knowing that the Sailor Scouts could show up any moment due to what she was doing. In just about every house in the city where Love Bracelets were present at least one person was screaming in constant pain. Mrs. Baker was in tears watching her daughter Molly scream in vain for help. Melvin's parents were also distressed by his sufferings. At her home Miss Haruna was all alone while she desperately clawed at the Bracelet on her wrist, which wouldn't come off.  
Regalia was sorry for them, but she was hopeful that the Sailor Scouts would come and then the innocent people would no longer need to suffer. One of the strange things was that neither she nor any other clan member had even wondered just for a moment, that if the Sailor Scouts were truly so evil, then why would they respond to help the many people they were technically abusing anyway? The Wiseman and the Grim Man were growing much stronger in their brainwashing abilities.  
"Stronger dark power!" she shouted with her arms raised and her eyes shut. "Stronger! Yeeeaaaahhh!"

As soon as Sailor Moon and her friends ran through the door into the room and saw Regalia, they tried to talk to her.  
"Excuse me. Can you stop and listen to us please?"  
"That's right. We have something important to say."  
As Regalia turned to look at them, of course she stopped generating her power and everybody all over the city felt instantaneous relief. Most of them, including Molly, Melvin and Rini collapsed gasping on their backs, but Amy and Lita pulled their Bracelets off their wrists in just one second before transforming and running off to join the others. They already guessed correctly that the Bracelets had been the source of their pain and they assumed their friends would be at the Love Bracelet Store.

Regalia meanwhile, had unhesitatingly thrown her attacks at the three Scouts. The cats ran out of the way, shouting at them to watch out.  
A huge arch stuck in the floor and they felt themselves being drawn towards it. Regalia shouted. "Ha! My Nightmare Ring will suck you into its vortex through its center. You'll feel all the terror of your worst nightmares and I'll seal you up in it forever!"  
"S-somebody do something! I can't withstand the pull!" Sailor Moon was being forced to step inevitably one foot in front of the other in the direction of the ring's enormous arch. So were the other two.  
Sailor Venus and Sailor Mars tried to use their attacks, but it was no use. "We're too bunched together Sailor Moon!"  
"We're in each other's way!"

Fortunately rescue came from two quarters. Nephlite made himself visible in front of Regalia's face scaring her. "Eeeeek!" She jumped into the air on the spot with shock and at the same time Tuxedo Mask threw several roses at the glowing arch piercing the center of its top every time.  
Regalia's fright had weakened the ring as her attention was diverted from it and it snapped clean in two halves where the roses had stuck in the center dispelling the suction of the vortex.  
"Well done Tuxedo Mask!" cried Sailor Moon, but Doom and Gloom rose up out of the floor and lunged to seize them, their faces insane with absolute fury.

"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" Sailor Jupiter had arrived with Sailor Mercury by her side. She sent a charge of her power shooting past the backs of her friends, distracting Doom and Gloom making them turn their faces to their left where a table and chairs were hit, blasting them to fragments.  
Sailor Mercury used her original trick. "Move aside quickly you girls. MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"  
Sailor Moon and the others ran out of the way with a split second to spare. Sailor Mercury conjured up the biggest cold fog she ever managed and it enveloped not only Doom and Gloom, but also Regalia as she stood nearby still trembling with wide eyed fear at the sight of Nephlite's ghost staring at her. As Nephlite faded away seemingly into the mist itself, the three clan members all succumbed to heavy chills and they shivered and moaned hugging themselves.  
Sailor Mars tried her special charms once more. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
Doom, Gloom and Regalia all screamed with chattering teeth as the charms all landed on their faces and Sailor Moon desperately attempted to heal them.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"

But as the mist dissipated to their mutual disappointment, the Dark Crystal Wedges that the trio stored inside their pockets provided by Sapphire again shielded them from cleansing. Doom and Gloom pulled off the charms stuck to their faces and turned to help Regalia get the one off her face.  
"We'd better retreat. Regalia! Use your ring and return to Crystal Tokyo while we report back to our sister," cried Gloom. Regalia needed no second bidding. She was out of there in two seconds and Doom and Gloom sank into the floor. Faster than the elevator could have taken them, they passed through every floor down to the ground level. Then they ran outside calling for Emerald. She was still standing there waiting and she reacted with concern.  
"My brothers. What's happening?"  
"We had to abandon the plan sis. Regalia's gone ahead of us back to the future. The Sailor Scouts tried to get the drop on us, but our Dark Wedges saved us again."  
"That is disappointing. But let's go and report in with Regalia brothers. Whatever information we can gather from the battle at least should hopefully help us to be more prepared next time." Then they too were gone.

In the aftermath of all this Sailor Moon and her friends left a handwritten note on the front desk at the building's ground floor entrance simply explaining that the Love Bracelet Store had been a hoax to set people up for the prank that they had just put a stop too. When the people who worked in the complex discovered it the following day, they reported it to the police. The police told the media on the news coverage, "What happened will probably remain unknown. We don't know who the perpetrators were and it seems the Sailor Scouts took care of them anyway. All else we can say is that we urge people to destroy those Bracelets they made, just in case there are any lingering danger inside them."  
Needless to say everybody either cut up or burned their Bracelet. None of them wanted anything more to do with the awful things and the Sailor Scouts were spoken of in very high regard and immense appreciation for saving the city once more.

Little did anybody suspect the deep worry and consternation that was ever growing inside their heroines all the time however. What could they possibly do to put an end to the entire affair?


	18. Chapter 18

CHAPTER 18

Emerald was so full of herself as she stood before Prince Diamond, combing her hair and thinking romantic thoughts about him. "Your Highness. I am confident that we will defeat our enemies next time. We had at least one unforeseen surprise with our last plan. The figure who appeared in front of Droid Regalia to distract her is a real mystery."  
Prince Diamond sat in his usual position on his throne looking at Emerald and her brothers who were standing on her right and left. "I fully agree Emerald. Regalia was so very pale and scared as she explained what she had seen to me. Whoever or whatever that figure was, we need to be wary of him as well. He could be dangerous."  
Regalia shuddered where she stood with her fellow Droids close by and Sapphire crossed his arms, frowning deep in thought next to the prince's throne.

Then the Wiseman and the Grim Man made their appearances. The clan all greeted them reverentially as usual and Prince Diamond said, "Welcome to you both. What do you have in mind for our next move?"  
The Grim Man said, "Your Highness. We propose to set a subtle trap to target that elusive child and the Silver Crystal."  
The Wiseman spoke next. "This time we require the services of Droid Injector."  
The Droid with a long scalpel and syringe needle in place of hands stepped forward with a bow. "I am yours to command, great mentors."  
She had light purple skin, red eyes, shiny, short blue hair and a cap similar to that worn by a nurse, with a blue coloured Dark moon gem attached to the front. She also had a strapless, purple dress and big, black boots, which the other Droids always carefully helped her to put on after bathing her with great care to avoid serious injury from needle or blade.  
The Wiseman said to her, "We have decided to grant you the ability to take on a human disguise Injector. You will use it well on this mission."  
Everybody was all ears upon hearing this, but especially Injector. To be able to take on a human appearance would make things much easier and safer for them all when she needed to bathe and dress. And the thought of being able to feed herself instead of being spoon fed was wonderful bliss to Injector. She had always been slightly disappointed when she realized what the effect of her powers were on the day when Sapphire supervised her Droid conversion.

The Grim Man delivered the full description of the mission. "You are going to infiltrate the city hospital in the past as a nurse, along with Doom and Gloom as doctors. Emerald will wander around the city streets casually wearing this false flower in her lapel. It will be connected to this pump spray in her pocket. She will be immune to the magic effects like the rest of you. But whoever breathes it in passively will suffer an induced attack of the flu."  
"Give people the flu?" cried Emerald.  
"Hey! We agreed to cause a small amount of discomfort with those Love Bracelets," began Doom, "but don't you think this is getting a bit much?"  
As he finished and everybody else was beginning to murmur among themselves, the Wiseman waved his hands mystically over his crystal ball and he and the Grim Man both stared with glowing red eyes making them all quiet up and gaze at them calmly.  
The Wiseman spoke with calculated precision. "There will be no lasting harm done and it will be worth it. Sooner or later the child will be taken sick and when she goes to the hospital for medical care, you will be ready to catch her. As soon as you depart with her the magic will be nullified and the people will get better again. There will be no harm really. Will there?"  
The clan all echoed in slurred unison. "No harm really. It will be worth it."  
Prince Diamond rose from his throne bowing humbly and proclaiming, "Our mentors have made an ingenious plan for us. Injector, I am placing full faith in you. You must help Doom, Gloom and Emerald catch that little brat so that our revenge can be complete."  
Injector said, "I will succeed Prince Diamond."  
"We all will triumph," said Emerald with the agreement of her brothers.  
All the rest, including Sapphire cheered loudly.

So the plan was put in operation. Doom and Gloom used their mind control powers upon the hospital staff to pass themselves off as newly arrived additions to the team. They were dressed in the usual sort of white coats and dark trousers that all the doctors wore and they had very large, dark sunglasses to mask their faces. They established their names as Doctor Fred Doomicton and Doctor George Gloomerson and they obtained clearance for Injector to work as a nurse in her human disguise. She could barely contain her excitement at suddenly having real hands with four fingers and a thumb each. But she did have the seriousness of the mission to keep in mind so she worked calmly beside the two "doctors". She did need to learn how to use her hands properly having gone for so long without them and Doom and Gloom tutored her while again using mind control to cover up any accidents she caused. However she learned very fast and soon she could handle holding and carrying things with no problems. Doom and Gloom were very pleased with her.

Meanwhile Emerald disguised herself in a very thick wrap around lady's coat and stove pipe hat plus fancy blue coloured oblong spectacles. Her coat contained the perfect pocket large enough for the bottle of pump spray and she wandered around town innocently placing her hand inside at times and squeezing the pump emitting the light, thin spray from her flower lapel. Then people slowly began to become sick after being around her and the hospital started to receive many patients. Most of them did go to the hospital though a few had private doctors who called on them at home. Amy just happened to be walking past Emerald when she caught a whiff of the flu spray. Serena and her mother were grocery shopping when they passed Emerald in the supermarket, though fortunately Rini wasn't with them. Lita was at the library at the wrong moment and finally Raye, Chad and her Grandfather were all infected along with a group of visitors to the Cherry Hill Temple, among which was Emerald of course. By the time she felt like she needed to put up her feet and stop wandering for awhile, even Darien had been infected. The only person who miraculously hadn't crossed her path, besides Rini, was Mina.

Raye gave Lita an ordinary phone call to ask how she was feeling. Their communicators were generally only used for Sailor Scout business. "Hi Lita. How are you feeling?"  
Lita was sitting up in her bed with the telephone on the nearby dressing table while Raye had carefully walked over to the phone just in front of the entrance to her room. "I feel like I'm getting better Raye, but you sound like you're still rather sick."  
Raye replied, "I certainly am. I feel like I'm simultaneously freezing and burning up with fever. So are Grandfather and Chad. I hope Catzi and the others don't get sick too."

Catzi and her sisters were still all hiding in a spare room along with Rebecca and Julie. They were all very scared about what would happen if they caught this flu bug, not knowing it wasn't a real flu epidemic but magically created by the evil Wiseman and Grim Man. They also were upset about their brainwashed friends who had died and anxious about those who were still alive. But they knew for their own safety they needed to let the Sailor Scouts keep them hidden. Even Grandfather and Chad didn't know about their presence. It was remarkable on Raye's part that despite the sickness she shared with them, they were still unaware of their guests via Raye's best powerful magic. In order to avoid the risk of infecting them as much as possible they had slipped out of the room themselves and taken some bread, fruit and other food from the kitchen that had not been touched or handled in any way by Raye, Chad or Grandfather. The latter two had not even so much as realized what had gone missing. The six women sparingly shared their rations between them.

Lita remarked, "It sounds like all of us have caught the same thing that's going around. Amy and Serena are also freezing and burning and so was I to begin with."  
Raye coughed and said dejectedly, "How sad. The Sailor Scouts lose the battle against a teeny flu bug."  
"Well at least one of us has triumphed so far Raye. Mina is still healthy."

Just as Raye said, "Is that so?" her door was suddenly pulled open and Mina's voice cried out startling her.  
"Yoo hoo Raye! I heard that you're sick so I've come to see how you're getting on."  
"Mina!" Raye vainly protested as Mina said she would make her comfortable and Lita hung up her phone as she heard the commotion through the line.  
"Looks like it's Raye's turn to get the tender loving care. Mina made such a mess of my room that my parents yelled at her to go away before they belted her over the head with brooms."

Mina persuaded Raye to go back to bed while she prepared some hot soup for her. Artemis had also come along and he was feeling rather nervous. He remembered how furious Lita's parents had been and he had not hesitated to exit via the nearest open window while Mina had rushed out the front door terrified. Those brooms they had been brandishing were very big and made with thick straw. They looked like one blow could give you concussion. If Mina hadn't desperately placed her arms over her head as she ran off, perhaps that might indeed have happened to her.

They had gone to see Amy earlier. At least Amy's mother was more calm and cool about things. She had merely insisted gently but firmly that she would be capable of looking after her own daughter before too many accidents had occurred. So Mina had reluctantly left with Artemis at her heels.

At this time he said to Raye, "Mina really is concerned about your well being Raye. Could you maybe just give her a chance?"  
Raye said, "Well she is my friend. Okay Artemis."

But Artemis was still very worried as Mina finally appeared carrying a tray with a bowl on it. "Here's your soup Raye. I hope I've got it right this time."  
Raye's ears immediately pricked up at these words. "Right this time? What do you mean by that?"  
Artemis gulped as he was forced to admit the truth. "She made soup for Amy and Lita. Amy didn't dare put her spoon in her mouth. It was as thick and sticky as glue. And when she made Lita's she picked up several packets of sugar instead of spices. The texture was all right, but it tasted horrible."  
"So I made a few mistakes. But trying counts," said Mina. Then setting the tray down in front of Raye she added, "But I'm sure your soup should be just right Raye dear."

She kneeled down and smiled at Raye. Raye picked up her spoon and dipped it in the soup. It did look all right. Still a little unsure she quietly thought, "I hope you've done a good job Mina."  
Then she took her first mouthful. But as soon as she'd swallowed she threw her head back and screamed startling Mina and Artemis. She made her soup splash over the side of the bowl and fall with a splat on the tray. Her tongue was sticking out of her mouth like a panting dog and her eyes were watering as she tipped her head backwards on her pillows.  
"Oh Raye! What's the matter?" Mina was fretful for her friend and Artemis leaped up onto the bed to examine the soup. Licking what had splashed upon the tray he grimaced and with his own eyes watering he said, "Ack. M-mina. You've made it far too spicy. Nobody could possibly handle a soup like this."

Raye groaned. "Mina please. Get me a glass of water."  
Mina desperately ran to the kitchen and grabbed her a glass and a jug of water from the refridgerator. "Here you are Raye."  
But in her haste she stumbled over the rug next to Raye's bed. Fortunately the glass landed safely on the bedcovers next to the tray and she didn't lose her grip on the jug, although the water all went flying into Raye's face making her splutter in shock. Artemis had only barely jumped off in time.  
Mina picked up the glass and placed it safely on the bedside table along with the jug.  
"I'm very sorry Raye. I'll get rid of the tray and the bowl." But as she picked it up, to Raye's further annoyance she snatched it up so fast that she tipped it at an angle and the bowl fell off.  
"My bed coverings! You've dumped that horrible gloop all over them!"  
Artemis groaned. "Mina you're a walking disaster."

Without stopping to think Mina said, "I'm sorry Raye. I'll take your sheets and put them in the laundry basket." As she was talking she grabbed the coverings and pulled them off the bed. With Raye and the bowl still lying on top of course, and as she yanked hard Raye shrieked as she was sent tumbling over the opposite side and bumped her head. It was another fortunate thing that the bowl was made of unbreakable material.  
Artemis pleaded for Mina as Raye tried to recover rubbing her head. "Try not to be too upset with the clumsy kid. She means well."  
Raye managed to clamber to her feet and shake off the dizziness. "Mina. Are you trying to kill me with kindness?"

Then before Mina could answer, she added, "Never mind. I will have a shower after I take the bedcovers to the laundry myself."  
"You'd better let me help you Raye," insisted Mina. "You don't want to fall over in the laundry or the shower."  
Raye protested. "Mina it's all right. I will take my time and watch my step. I won't get dizzy if I move slowly and carefully."  
But Mina insisted in spite of Raye's arguments and the two of them disappeared leaving Artemis apprehensively wondering what else was going to happen.

It happened in barely six minutes. Mina came running like a scared rabbit covered in foam followed by an irate Raye naked except for a towel draped modestly around her with one hand and a coating of foam as well. "GET OUT! GET OUT!" she was bellowing. Artemis helpfully snatched up Mina's carry bag in his mouth and ran out the door with her. As poor Raye pulled the door closed behind her, she began to feel dizzy with sickness and holding on she steadied herself down the door to her hands and knees on the ground and crawled off to get her bearings and wash off the foam in the shower once more. Then she would tidy up as much as she was physically capable of and get some much needed rest.

When they stopped to catch their breath Artemis put the bag down out of his mouth and asked, "What did you do back at Raye's Mina?"  
"Oh Artemis. It seems I made a slight miscalculation in the amount of washing powder for Raye's laundry. While she was showering the soapy foam began to overflow out of her washing machine and as soon as Raye realized what was happening she blew her gasket."  
She shrugged her shoulders. "Never mind. I'll go home and freshen up myself. Then when I change my clothes I'll go round to Serena's."  
"You're going there too? Don't you think your talents are rather flawed when it comes to being a nurse Mina?"  
"Hey now! I admit I've made some mistakes Artemis, but that doesn't mean I'm not learning from them. I'm sure I've come a long way. I won't make a mess at lucky last Serena's house."  
Artemis held his tongue as she picked up her bag to carry home herself. Today was getting to be an absolute disaster.

Meanwhile at Serena's house Rini was begging to do something to help with the chores. She said to Serena's mother, "Uncle is at work, yesterday Sammy went away to play football with his schoolteam at a school match in another nearby town and you and Serena are both feeling unwell. I must do something to help you."  
Mum smiled at her. "That's nice of you Rini. But you're way too small to do any of the major important jobs. They can wait for today at least while Serena and I rest."  
"Isn't there some little thing I could do?"

While Rini was pleading with Mum, Serena was on the phone to Raye. "What's that you say? She trashed your house too? Amy and Lita have both called me earlier to tell me what happened."  
Raye coughed and blew her nose as she replied, "She's probably coming to your house next. Don't let her in at all costs."  
But suddenly Rini's voice called out, "Hey Serena. Auntie's just answered the door. Mina's come to check on you."  
Serena inwardly groaned and said to Raye, "She's already here. Have to go. Don't worry. I'll be careful."  
Barely had she said this and hung up the receiver when Mina was at her side. "Hello Serena. Nurse Mina is here to see to it that you and your mother get better. Since Rini is healthy she can assist me."  
Rini thought this was a wonderful idea. "Goody! Now I can be helpful." She was very happy.

But Serena was very nervous and worried. "But-er- I'm not as bad as I was before." Even as she said this she was coughing however and Mina turned her around and directed her back to bed.  
"Now now Serena. You need to be careful or you could risk getting an even worse attack of the flu. Maybe even pneumonia."  
Rini said, "She's right you know."  
"Just leave everything to Rini and myself."  
Artemis had followed Mina inside and staying behind as Mina and Rini marched Serena to bed he spoke quietly to Luna. "I almost wish that Mina would have caught the flu herself Luna."  
"Why's that Artemis?" Luna was surprised at his words.  
"Let me explain." Artemis whispered in her ear and her eyes almost sprang out of her head as she gasped in horror. Artemis bowed his head and gritted his teeth while she looked in the direction of Serena's closed bedroom door in grim apprehension.

In no time at all Serena was sitting up in bed and Mina and Rini were preparing to look after her. "Pass me the thermometer please Rini."  
"Here you are Mina."  
Mina took the thermometer from Rini and stuck it under Serena's tongue. When she took it out and looked at it she said, "Hmm, this is strange Serena. It doesn't seem to be working properly. It says your temperature's only three degrees. That can't be right."  
She proceeded to vigorously shake the thermometer to see if it would come right, but it slipped out of her hand and went straight through the glass of Serena's closed window creating a small hole in which cold wind began to blow. Serena hugged her blankets tight to her in shivering shock and Rini was astounded.  
"Sorry I made a hole in your window. I'll fix it," said Mina. After sticky taping some brown paper over the hole, she added, "There you go. Never mind about your temperature. Shall I make you a bowl of hot soup?"  
Serena desperately cried, "Oh no thank you Mina. I'm really not hungry."  
"Are you sure Serena? Should I go and see if I can do something for your mother then?"  
Serena desperately wanted to avoid any more trouble for her and her mother, so thinking quickly she said, "Oh! Well if you really want to help us Mina, then why don't you and Rini go over to the hospital and get us some medicine?"  
Mina snapped her fingers. "That's a good idea Serena. Why didn't I think of that? While we're at it we can get some for the others as well."  
Rini was jubilant to hear this but Mina then said to her, "Say Rini, if you wouldn't mind could you please deliver the medicine to the other girls for me? I won't dare set foot currantly in Raye or Lita's houses again, and I'm not fully sure if I'd even be let in at Amy's."  
"Sure no problem Mina."  
Serena was relieved but then she started to feel dizzy and light headed. As she collapsed back onto her pillows, Mina and Rini both reacted in concern.

Serena woke up to find Rini mopping her burning forehead with a washer soaked in a bucket of cool water and Mina kneeling beside her. "Are you feeling better?" asked Rini.  
Serena was amazed to find them still here. "What's going on?"  
"You fainted," said Mina. "Rini helped me fill the bucket." She blushed. "I confess I spilt the first bucket in the laundry, but Rini supervised me and we mopped up the water with towels and filled a second bucket as soon as possible. Then we brought it carefully up here and began cooling your forehead while you were out of it."  
Serena goggled. "You didn't blunder when Rini helped you?"  
Mina sighed. "Rini seems to have a hidden talent when it comes to supervision. If only she had been with me at Amy, Lita and Raye's houses. I'm a ditz, I can't deny, but she made a big difference when she took charge."  
"I knew I needed to do something when I saw what happened with the thermometer Serena, then in the laundry I knew it was the crucial sign. I couldn't let things get out of hand."  
Artemis and Luna were also nearby and were greatly admiring Rini in awe. "Rini is a more remarkable person that even Artemis and I thought Serena."  
"Yeah. I'm proud of her," said Artemis, but he quickly added, "I am proud of you too Mina. I know you were trying hard before when you were on your own."

Mina turned and gave a small smile. "Thanks Artemis." Then Rini spoke.  
"We've told Auntie that we're going to get some medicine. She's very grateful for that. We'd better go now Mina. Time's not waiting for us."  
Mina obediently stood up and said, "Okay I'm ready Rini. See you soon Serena, Luna, Artemis."  
"We won't be too long," promised Rini and the others gave them a cheery goodbye.  
Serena started to say, "Things are looking rather good after all," then barely had these words passed her lips when the sticky tape holding the paper over the hole in her window came half loose. As the top fell down the cold breeze began to attack Serena. "Oh no!" She shivered and started to get out of bed to try to fix it. Unfortunately she put her foot right into the bucket of water and fell forward onto her face sending water all over her floor. Artemis and Luna moaned.  
"I hope Serena can survive long enough to get her medicine Luna."

At the hospital all this time Doom, Gloom and Injector had been working very hard with all the regular staff members. How ironical that they were responsible for creating the nasty flu epidemic that had struck the city and they were also trying their best to relieve the people. But they quietly told each other in privacy that it was only to try to capture Rini.  
"Hopefully she will come in here for treatment herself soon. And then we'll put the regular doctors and nurses into a harmless trance so we can apprehend her," said Gloom.  
"I hope so too," sighed Injector. "I pity these people. Shame we have to do this to them."  
They always took care to whisper quietly amongst themselves so that if anybody happened to come along suddenly they could quickly shut up and appear innocent. That's just what happened now.  
"Pardon me Doctors Doomicton and Gloomerson," said a red headed nurse. "There is a big girl with long yellow hair and a smaller girl with pinkish hair at reception. They say they would like to get some medicine for the small girl's family."  
Doom smiled. "Then kindly send them right in to our office. Nurse Anne Jekshin here will help us to examine them and make sure they are healthy themselves."  
"Yes. I will at once."

But as soon as Mina and Rini were escorted inside they recognized the latter as their target. Before Mina and the real nurse knew it, Doom and Gloom had shed off their disguises and concentrating hard hypnotized them both while Injector seized Rini and tied a gag over her mouth as she tried to scream. Her golden moon-crescent briefly shone on her forehead, though because her cry had been cut off it didn't illuminate up into the sky above the hospital as it normally would have done. Injector recognized the sign though. "It's Rini all right. We can tie her up in this office, hypnotize the rest of the people so they won't notice her and when Emerald calls in to check on us at 7 o'clock tonight, we will be able to break the magic spell to make the flu go away and take her back to the future prisoner."  
"Sounds awesome," said Doom and he and Gloom began to laugh as they produced thick, strong cord which they proceeded to wind around Rini's body pinning her arms to her sides. She was terrified. Unless Mina snapped out of her trance and transformed or the others somehow turned up, in spite of their sickness, it looked like it was all over for her. The blue ball she always carried with her lay on the floor where it had landed and rolled away. Sailor Pluto was unaware of Rini's predicament. The ball sat still without the built-in communication signals activated.

As the clan members were putting their plan into operation Serena was lying in bed with Artemis and Luna watching over her. All of a sudden a familiar spectre image materialized. "N-nephlite?" Serena gasped and sat up carefully.  
"Is Molly in danger again?" asked Luna and Nephlite replied shaking his head.  
"Molly is in no more danger than the rest of the city who've fallen sick. However ever since I caught a glimpse of those enemies the other day I've made careful note of their aura and can sense when they are involved in something. That's why I can tell you that this is no ordinary flu epidemic. They magically created it."

Serena, Luna and Artemis were all astounded at this revelation, but Nephlite spoke on. "I've been watching them carefully to see how serious things were. They didn't really seem to be threatening anybody's life though I was certainly not happy about them even making poor Molly remotely unwell. But as I invisibly spied upon them at the hospital they attacked and captured your friend Mina and a little girl who was in her company."  
"That's Rini!" cried Serena with a cough.  
"What have they done to them Nephlite?" cried Artemis.  
"They have bound and gagged the girl and Mina and all the hospital staff are placed in a powerful trance. I don't want to see anybody come to harm. Not just Molly. So I came here at once."

Serena grabbed her communicator and called Amy, Raye and Lita one by one. Even though they were all still feeling under the weather they knew what they all had to do. "Serena. You and the girls are all sick!" Artemis cried.  
"We know we are Artemis. But Mina and Rini are in danger. They need us," said Serena as she dressed herself.  
"She's right you know Artemis," said Luna and he knew it also.  
"Of course. But please be careful."

Nephlite promised to meet them at the hospital and help them before he vanished.  
They all prepared to make their way to the hospital. As Serena carefully sneaked out of her bedroom door and down the stairs while her mother was resting in her own room, Luna and Artemis were right behind her. It was almost 6pm and Dad would be home from work any moment. They quietly exited out the back door to be extra safe and headed for the hospital. The other girls also sneaked out of their own homes in one way or another without their families knowing. They all went as quickly as they could possibly go under their circumstances without making themselves dizzy and fall over. They needed to be very careful for Mina and Rini's sakes. Not merely their own.

They all congregated outside the hospital and walked around the side away from the main entrance. After making sure they were in a secluded area behind a car park shed where nobody could see them Serena said, "Okay girls. Let's transform."  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"MARS POWER!"  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

As soon as they had transformed they discovered something incredible. "Hey. I feel all better now," cried Sailor Mars.  
"So do I," said Sailor Jupiter.  
Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were also well. "What does this mean?" exclaimed Sailor Moon.  
Artemis and Luna were astounded and it took about six or seven seconds before Luna found her voice. "Why how about that? It appears that whatever magic you girls were infected with in your civilian identities, in your Sailor identities you are immune to it!"  
"This is something even I never would have anticipated!" Artemis was beyond himself with amazement.  
Sailor Moon suddenly slapped her hand over her eyes, tipped back her head and moaned. "You mean all the time we could have spared ourselves from Mina's pathetic attempts at nursing us?"  
Sailor Mercury said calmingly, "Now now. None of us were to know and she really did want to help us because she loves us."  
Sailor Mars was starting to copy Sailor Moon's actions but she controlled herself and said, "That's right. She loves us."  
"And we love her too and we need to get in there at once and save her as well as Rini," said Sailor Jupiter.  
Sailor Moon swallowed her indignation and stammered, "Y-yes. Well, what are we waiting for?"

Luna and Artemis both told them to hurry but be very careful. "Nephlite must be hiding invisibly inside waiting to offer you his assistance," said Luna.  
"As for you be very cautious as you attempt to get Rini and Mina safely away," added Artemis.  
"We sure will," vowed Sailor Mars as they rushed inside the hospital. Everybody was just staring blankly and walking randomly around without noticing them.  
Nephlite materialized before them. "Come with me Sailor Scouts. This way."  
They and the cats all followed after Nephlite's ghost as he glided through the corridors and past all the trance induced people. It was almost 6:30. Emerald was planning to meet up with her friends at 7 o'clock sharp.

As they approached the office where Doom, Gloom and Injector were all gathered, they could see through the open door that Rini was tied up in a chair with a gag over her mouth and tears in her frightened eyes. The other genuine nurse had gone about her routine oblivious to poor Rini, or Mina for that matter, who was staring blankly ahead where she stood still as a statue.  
Sailor Mercury sprang into action filling the room with her bubbles. "MERCURY BUBBLES BLAST!"  
The clan members all shouted in frozen shock as they reacted to the freezing spray, though Rini and Mina were somehow not even nudged by it, thanks to Mercury's extraordinary skill. "Oooooh! W-w-what the?"  
"It's s-s-s-so cold!"  
"Aaaargh. I'm an ic-icic-cle."

It only lasted for ten or twelve seconds. But when it was dispersed Doom and Gloom found that Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter were suddenly standing by their right and left sides, and Sailor Moon and Sailor Mercury were by Injector's sides.  
The Sailor Scouts immediately tried to reason with them. "Please let us talk to you," began Sailor Jupiter. But to the consternation of her and Sailor Mars, the two brothers quickly used their gifted abilities to disappear into the floor. Then they rose back up again next to Rini's chair and seized her in both their hands. Rini squealed through her gag and helplessly writhed and wriggled like the proverbial worm on a hook in their grasp.  
"If you try to harm Injector," Doom began.  
"We will kill this girl," Gloom finished.  
Sailor Moon tried to protest. "We don't want to harm your friend or you either. Sailor Mars try your,"

But before she could finish speaking Injector, taking her hesitancy to act as consternation over what to do regarding Rini, suddenly transformed into her everyday Droid appearance.  
"LOOK OUT SAILOR MOON!" Sailor Mercury shouted as she leaped backwards to avoid a dreadful slash from the scalpel on Injector's right arm. Sailor Moon stumbled backwards crashing on her back as Injector turned her attention to her. The needle fastened to the syringe on her left arm hovered menacingly over Sailor Moon. She looked up with a terrified expression as Injector prepared to literally pin her to the floor.  
Before she could thrust her built-in weapon down, Sailor Mars acted instinctively with her old power. "MARS FIRE IGNITE!"  
She shot a blast of her fire at the seat of Injector's pants preventing her from spearing Sailor Moon. Injector rose up in the air, her scalpel and needle flailing wildly as she shrieked with the pain of the burn. "YEEOWWWLLL!"

Doom and Gloom saw this as their cue to kill Rini naturally. But as they were preparing to strangle her, Nephlite appeared before their eyes looking stern and heavily frowning. They gasped as he reached out and even though he was a ghost, he was able to generate some sort of psychical energy, grabbing hold of Rini and pushing them both roughly aside. It was similar to the way he had somehow successfully restrained Titus a long time ago. Rini didn't know what was going on, but she assumed that Nephlite meant her no harm as he held her gently in his ghostly grip.

Gloom found his voice and called out, "Injector! Hurry and spear them all before they attack again!"  
Injector recovered her bearings and spun around aiming her needle at each of the Scouts. She displayed the scary ability to shoot off her syringe like a missile, yet still leaving a fresh one on the end of her arm every time.  
Sailor Mars rolled to the side as the first one flew at her. Sailor Jupiter ducked and weaved as the second one barely missed her. They both stuck into the wall like darts thrown at a dartboard. As she turned around to fire in Sailor Mercury's direction, a small projectile struck the third one in mid-flight shattering it in two precise halves. Injector gasped at the sight of her broken syringe lying in a pile on the floor with a bright, red rose stuck in the floorboards. At just the same moment as she looked at the familiar person who had thrown it, Emerald was nearing the office as it was nearly 7 o'clock. Her pink comb as always was moving through her hair as she unsuspectingly entered the room humming to herself.

Emerald's contented hum suddenly caught in her throat as she saw what was going on. She stared wide eyed as Nephlite's spirit floated along six inches off the ground to stand beside Tuxedo Mask. Rini was still gently being supported in his ghostly grasp and he handed her to Tuxedo Mask. "Here," he said as Tuxedo Mask took Rini in one arm while he brandished his cane in his other hand. "You look after this child and I'll assist the Sailor Scouts if need be."  
Tuxedo Mask grinned as he clutched Rini supportively to his side and replied, "Thank you." He still felt deeply attached to Rini, though he didn't know why.

Emerald reacted the way her instinct told her to. "This does not look good. We're outnumbered. Injector! My brothers! Let's get out of here!"  
At her cue Doom and Gloom activated the magic rings on their fingers along with their sister who used her own ring and they vanished to report back to Prince Diamond and their creepy mentors in the future.  
However in their haste they had forgotten that Injector was not in her human disguise, and so was unable to operate her ring and still at the mercy of the enemy as they supposed.  
"Wait a minute! Don't leave me!" She begged in fright fearing she was going to be killed. The Sailor Scouts tried to heal her.  
"MARS FIREBALLS CHARGE!"

Injector shrieked as the charm missed her head but stuck to her elbow just above her syringe due to her panicked ducking and twisting.  
Mina came out of her trance as Emerald and her brothers had dispelled all their magic spells when they departed and she gasped in confusion as to what was going on while Sailor Moon vainly tried to act.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"

If it were not for the Dark Crystal Wedge in Injector's pocket there certainly should have been some measure of positive effect on Injector even without Sailor Mars' charm in its desired position on her face. But of course, it was no use.  
"Let me out of here!" Injector wailed and turned to run desperately slashing and thrusting left and right. The Sailor Scouts all quickly backed away in worried consternation. Injector could seriously hurt or even kill somebody if she ran out of the room and through the hospital in a frenzied panic like this.  
Sailor Jupiter knew she had no choice. "JUPITER THUNDER CLAP ZAP!" She only used a very mild charge that barely scorched the floor in front of Injector's path to the door. It just missed her, very nicely timed. But it gave her even more of the hackles and she turned around moaning and making other inarticulate noises wanting to escape. How could the Sailor Scouts take her down safely?

Fortunately Mina had transformed while everybody was preoccupied and she struck out. "VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"  
Her whip made up of golden heart chain links caught Injector's scalpel and she pulled back on it tautly arresting her movement. Injector looked around frantically. "Please have mercy," she cried in a voice that clearly indicated she expected none. "I don't want to die!"  
"We're not going to kill you," insisted Sailor Jupiter.  
"We just want you to listen to us," pleaded Sailor Mercury.  
Sailor Moon begged earnestly while Sailor Venus grunted with the effort of tugging hard on her chain. "Please let me explain. Things are not what they seem. We've all been misled. Your people and us are being pitted against each other."  
"You've been manipulated," said Sailor Mars and the other Scouts all begged Injector to listen.

"Look out!" Luna shouted.  
"She's going to start firing off needles!" Artemis cried out in dire warning.  
It was true. Injector was just like a desperately scared wild animal that will try to get away but lash out when backed into a corner. As she raised the syringe to shoot randomly the Sailor Scouts all gasped in horror. But Nephlite came to their rescue and swiftly gliding across the floor he lifted Injector's arm upwards. She began to wail once more as her barrage of needles harmlessly stuck into the ceiling.

Then before anybody could try to do anything else, Emerald reappeared in the room with two of the other Droids. One was Marzipan and the other had red skin, pointed ears, fangs and long, white hair pulled back into a bun. The clasp that held her hair had four golden plates hanging from it and they stuck out from behind her head, two at each side.  
They were all deeply concerned and Emerald pointed with her very own comb crying, "There's Injector! Quickly save her!"  
Marzipan fired off a stream of sticky icing and even some small cakes at the Sailor Scouts. Sailor Jupiter was struck and disoriented by the barrage and so was Sailor Mars. Tuxedo Mask had been untying Rini and he gasped as he pulled the gag off her mouth and she called out to their friends. "Watch out!"

The red Droid carried a big, black whip by her side and she was attacking Sailor Venus with it. As she leaped out of the way she released her own golden chain whip, which dissolved leaving Injector free.  
She turned to look at Emerald and called out her name. Emerald called back. "Hurry Injector! Transform yourself and escape with us!"  
Injector leaped away from Nephlite towards Emerald and by the time she landed next to her she was in the form of a human once again. Emerald threw her arms around her. "Get your ring ready Injector. Thank goodness we were in time to save you."  
Now that Injector had hands her ring automatically appeared on her finger.

As the red Droid continued to crack her whip the Sailor Scouts all slipped and skidded on the sticky mess of sweets created by Marzipan as they desperately tried to avoid the menacing attack. Tuxedo Mask said to Rini, "I must get you out of here before they realize you're present."  
"But what about the others?"  
"Nephlite will help them. If they have their attention drawn to you they may try to capture you again."  
There was no way to get past to the door however. So Tuxedo Mask and Rini quietly croached down together out of sight behind a tall bookshelf in the corner.

It was not to last too much longer though for Nephlite did indeed move to protect the girls from the whip. The Droid backed off when he approached and when she tried to crack her whip at him, it passed harmlessly through him making her gasp in alarm.  
Emerald called out, "Enough! Let's all retreat!"  
At the same time Sailor Moon was calling out, "Nephlite! Let them go! That's all we can do for now!"  
Emerald and the Droids did not even notice Sailor Moon's words, but Nephlite did and in the split second that he turned to look back at her, the four clan members were gone back to Crystal Tokyo.

Just then some of the medical staff entered to behold the floor all covered with the messy, sludge of cakes and sweets that had been left courtesy of Marzipan and in the split seconds in which they all stared open-mouthed, Nephlite vanished and Tuxedo Mask magically changed his clothes into his everyday outfit before they were also noticed. But the Sailor Scouts stayed still and a young doctor stammered asking them, "W-w-what has been h-h-happening S-sailor S-s-scouts?"  
Sailor Venus herself spoke first. "Well it's kind of weird I know. But we just fought off some strange enemies that threw cakes and sugar icing at us."

This was true enough of course even though the doctors and the nurses couldn't believe it. But there was the evidence before their astonished eyes. They could even see how the five Scouts were all covered in the gloop from either being directly hit or from slipping and sliding while dodging the whip.  
"None of us can understand what the point of such an attack was, but we're all deeply grateful to you super-heroines," said the same doctor and the others agreed, albeit with confused looks on their faces.  
Darien and Rini asserted that the Sailor Scouts had protected them from the attack and that they had come here to get medicine for Rini's family.  
The doctors saw to it that they received what they came for while the nurses set about arranging to mop up the sticky mess. Not to mention remove the needles carefully from the wall and ceiling. None of them so much as remembered ever working with Dr. Doomicton, Dr. Gloomerson or Nurse Ann Jekshin. Their memories had been wiped clean but as for the matter of what they found in the room they all agreed to keep quiet.  
"We don't want the public to think we should all be sent to a mental hospital. But thank you once again Sailor Scouts. You probably saved us from something very dangerous in spite of how confused we are."  
"It's our pleasure. You're most welcome," said Sailor Moon.

But even more little did any of the people realize that the whole city had been liberated from the magic flu. When Rini arrived back home with Darien and Serena they discovered the medicine really wasn't necessary. Indeed when the other girls had also transformed into their secret identities and gone home, they discovered that all the sick people in their neighbourhoods were now completely better, as well as whoever may have been sick among their own personal households.  
However Mina had a very nasty and unfortunate shock when she woke up the following day.

She was sick. Burning up with a fever, coughing and all the other symptoms that her friends had had. "Artemis, I feel terrible." She moaned in answer to his cheerful good morning greeting as the alarm clock went off.  
"What? What's the matter Mina?"  
"I feel sick Artemis." Then she staggered out of bed.  
"Mina! What are you doing?"  
"I'm going to fix my problem Artemis. Serena and the others told me how they immediately felt better when they transformed. VENUS POWER!"  
She became Sailor Venus but she immediately felt dizzy and crashed down flat on her bed, just missing Artemis who leaped aside.  
"Ooohh! Artemis. I still feel unwell. What is wrong with me?"

Artemis took charge at once. "The matter is that you've caught a real flu bug. That's why transforming won't help you. Now quickly change back and get into bed before your parents come to check and find out your secret identity. Right now."  
"Okay Artemis." She rose to her feet and concentrating hard turned back into Mina. Though she fell backwards again. This time onto the floor and the noise of the crash brought her parents running to check on her.  
"Mina honey! Are you all right?" Her mother asked and Mina answered with a groan.  
"I'm sick Mum."  
"Oh dear," said her father. "You must have picked up the last traces of the epidemic that hit town. Let us help you get back into bed and stay there while we take care of you."  
Her parents made her as comfortable as they could and Mina began to rest.

Later in the afternoon though she had two visitors. Serena and Rini. "Hello. We heard that you were unwell so we came to visit you and look after you," said Serena.  
Mina and Artemis both sat up in surprise and Serena handed her a bowl of soup. "Here. Rini helped me make this for you."  
Mina smiled. "Why thank you." She remembered how Rini had been such a positive influence to her efforts at nursing Serena and confidently took a spoonful into her mouth.  
She almost gagged at the horrid taste. Serena looked at her with bright, sparkling eyes. "Isn't it yummy?"  
In order to be polite Mina said, "Uh-huh," and took another mouthful though it made her want to throw up. The truth was that unfortunately Rini did not have the same responsible chemistry with Serena and while she had been helping her prepare this extraordinary soup she had agreed with Serena's outlandish "experimental" ingredients and had even offered her own suggestions which Serena had also accepted unquestioningly. They had made this soup by blending things like bananas, cucumbers, baked beans, watermelon, raisins, peanut butter and yogurt.

Serena was dancing with joy. "Hooray! She likes it! She likes my cooking!"  
Then Rini said, "Let me take her temperature." But Serena suddenly snatched the thermometer out of Rini's hand.  
"Not now Rini. She's enjoying my great food."  
Rini was incensed. "Your great food? I helped you prepare it you know Serena. And I also say I should take her temperature."  
"I said not now. And as for the food, well you were only an assistant. I'm the master chef."  
"Why you big-headed meatball head. I'm not here to just take orders from you. Give me the thermometer now."  
"You little fungus. I'm the one in charge."  
Then the pair of them began to bicker and snap at each other while Artemis watched dumbfounded and Mina sighed. "I guess the old saying is true. What goes around, comes around."  
Then she wailed. "Please just leave me alone!" but neither Serena nor Rini heard her as they continued their heated argument.


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

It was only a couple of days later after Mina's parents had gently but firmly told Serena and Rini after being alerted to the noise of their heated argument in their daughter's bedroom, that their intentions were well-meaning but really unnecessary. "We can look after our daughter very well ourselves thank you. She needs to get plenty of rest now, so she mustn't have any more visitors," said her Dad.  
Serena and Rini had both taken the hint but as they walked home they had continued bickering about whose fault it had been that they'd been sent away.  
Mina was very happy though and her mother made her some real soup as soon as she'd told her about the soup Serena and Rini had made for her.

She was at home and beginning to feel much better while Artemis went round to Serena's house to see Luna. He was out of breath because he'd ran all the way. "What have you been doing Artemis?" Luna wanted to know while he lay on his back, puffing on top of Serena's bed.  
Getting his bearings he said, "I was just wandering around town, minding my own business, when a crazy chef started yelling at me and throwing pots and pans in my direction."  
"A chef did that to you?" Luna cried, then she added with sharp criticism. "Why did he do that and where were you anyway?"  
Artemis blushed. "Hey now. I was feeling hungry, so I sneaked into the kitchen of a restaurant where fish was being prepared."  
Luna rolled her eyes. "Oh Artemis. Fancy sticking your neck out looking for trouble like that. You could have easily and safely obtained something to eat either here or at Mina's house you know."  
Artemis was rather incensed at her rebuke. "But it's not the same as that gourmet fish platter!"  
"Give me a break Artemis! If you get caught by that chef next time he'll have you sent packing to the pound and when Mina hears about it she will have to pay $25 to get you back. You're acting so foolishly stupid. If you won't think of yourself, then you should think about her!"

Artemis refused to look at things the way Luna put them. All that was on his mind was how absolutely delicious the fish in that restaurant was. Jumping down off the bed in a huff he snapped over his shoulder. "You should just mind your own business Luna. I can do anything that gives me satisfaction."  
With his nose in the air he walked away towards the area by the door, which was closed. He even had his eyes shut so he did not even realize where he was standing.

But the next thing that happened was that Serena and Rini entered Serena's room to spend time together. Ever since Rini had finally forgiven Serena in full for having scared her out of her wits with her angry, rage-filled talk of killing her, the two of them had slowly become friends in a love-hate sort of way at least. They were both feeling happy about each other's company and Serena put her hand on the doorknob and pushed the door open really fast taking Artemis by surprise, pinning him behind it.

Serena and Rini were very distressed when they realized what had happened. "Oh dear. We're so sorry Artemis. It was an accident," said Serena bending down and picking him up. She placed him back on the bed and she sat down on his left with Luna in between while Rini sat down on his right. Artemis had a bump on his head that had left him feeling dazed and he stared blankly ahead of himself.  
Rini said, "Are you all right Artemis? Does your bump hurt if I touch it?" As she was asking this question she was already touching it without waiting for an answer.

Artemis screamed. "YEEEEEAAAAARRRRGHHH!"  
Rini said, "I guess that means yes," and Serena and Luna started laughing. Rini automatically began to laugh too. It was contagious, but Artemis began to get really offended.  
"Laughing at me? That does it. I'm out of here."  
He jumped down and stormed out of the open doorway. Serena called out, "Don't be mad. I didn't mean to laugh but I couldn't help it."  
Luna said, "Don't worry Serena. He's just feeling all worked up because things have taken an unlucky cat-astrophical turn for him. He'll get over it."  
Rini said, "I get it. CAT-astrophical. You're so witty Luna."  
"You picked up on my little pun Rini? Yes that's right you clever girl."  
As soon as Serena heard this she began to laugh once more and Luna and Rini did too. They had a good long merry laughing time.

But not long afterwards they were in anything but a mood to laugh as Serena received a phone call from Mina.  
"Hello Mina. How are you feeling?"  
"I'm healthy once again Serena. The fever and all the rest of the symptoms are gone."  
Serena was delighted to hear that. "Oh this is great."

But Mina's next words were not so great. "Yeah but tell me Serena. Have you and Rini seen Artemis? Is he still at your house?"  
"What's that? No Artemis left. He's not with you Mina?"  
Luna and Rini were both horrified as they took in Serena's words.  
Mina told her, "No he hasn't shown up at all. I'm getting worried Serena. I hope he's all right."  
"Surely he must be Mina. Let's call the other girls. Ask Raye to try a fire-reading."

After hanging up she said to Luna and Rini, "Artemis is missing!"  
Luna groaned. "I hope he hasn't disappeared just because of what we said and the way we laughed. He wouldn't break Mina's heart by running away. Would he?"  
"Oh no!" Rini was aghast.

The actual truth was that Artemis had decided that he wanted to show Luna, Serena and Rini that he wasn't an irresponsible, stupid fool. "I'll show them what the real me is," he said to himself. "Brave, noble, heroic. A cat to be proud of. I'll find something very good to do for somebody. Anybody in dire need at all. And then they will have no choice but to respect me."  
With this thought firmly in his mind he proceeded to wander all around the city instead of going home to Mina.

Turning a corner he heard some distressed mewing sounds coming from a box sitting on top of a pile of rubbish. Recognizing the noise only too well Artemis nudged the lid off the box with his nose to reveal six kittens of various colours. The poor things had been abandoned and treated as if they were rubbish to be thrown out by cruel and heartless people.  
Before Artemis could do anything a car pulled up and he ran away a safe distance as the door opened and the man behind the wheel stepped out. He had noticed the kittens and his heart went out to them. Artemis watched as he picked up the box and put it on the passenger seat next to him. "Where is he taking those little kitties?" Artemis wondered. Then as the car drove off he ran after it. "Maybe if I follow along I may have the opportunity I'm seeking to be a hero."  
Fortunately the man stopped again to coax a poor sickly-looking dog into the back seat and Artemis was able to jump up onto the roof of the car from behind before it drove away again.

As the driver turned to pass through some big gates, Artemis agilely leaped off and ran into the grounds surrounding the building at the end of the pathway. While the man parked his car and carried the kittens in the box up to the entrance and coaxed the dog to follow him, Artemis looked around the gardens in amazement. There were rabbits, squirrels, cats and dogs sitting around all over making themselves at home. "I wonder what is this place? What are all these animals doing here?"

The place in question was a shelter and medical center for homeless and unwanted animals. The man was speaking to a woman who was in charge and two other staff members, who were charming, smiling young men. There were many sick animals inside rows of cages along the walls.  
"Please look at these kittens Doctor. I found them on top of a huge pile of trash waiting for the dump truck."  
The woman bent down and picked one of them up. "Yes, my assistants and I will examine the little darlings. They're so lucky that you saved them from the trash."  
One of the assistants was petting the big dog affectionately while the other one kneeled down beside the kittens' box saying, "They're so sweet and adorable.

Suddenly the four humans all screamed and collapsed upon the floor. The woman had still been holding a kitten, but as she fell down unconscious it was plucked out of her hands. Doom held the kitten close to his chest stroking it under the chin. His brother Gloom and his sister Emerald were also standing in the room.  
"I must agree completely," said Doom. "These kittens are most lucky indeed. Isn't this one gorgeous Emerald?"  
Emerald laughed with affection taking the kitten gently from her brother. Gloom was scratching the big dog behind the ears.  
"How could anybody try to send these creatures to the dump like common garbage? It's beyond my understanding Doom. But let's get these people gently tied up and safely stored away so we can take over for our mission."  
Gloom cried out, "Animal Instinct! Come help us!"

Animal Instinct materialized on command. She was the red-skinned Droid with the big, black whip who had helped Emerald and Marzipan rescue Injector the other day. Laying her whip aside she assisted the others in tying up the four people and gagging them inside the staffroom. Emerald said, "I'll keep an eye on them and make sure they come to no harm. The rest of you know what to do."  
"We sure do sis," replied Gloom and so saying, he and Doom disguised themselves as workers while Animal Instinct took on the appearance of a new manageress and veterinarian.  
"The animals will all jump to my charming influence Emerald." She laughed and Emerald commented.  
"Just be careful to not harm anybody. We must give the people who come visiting this center a scare so that when the Sailor Scouts hear about it they'll come to check things out. But at least we don't need to make the animals actually bite or maim in any way."  
Animal Instinct said, "Of course I fully agree. They will growl and act menacing but under my strict control they will only attack in so far as chasing people. But with the Sailor Scouts it will be a totally different story."  
Doom laughed. "Seeing them die is going to be a pleasure. I'll be thinking about the justice for our dead relatives as I watch the animals rip and tear them to pieces."  
"Same here," added Gloom.  
"It will make everything worth it to see vengeance at last. Just like the Wiseman and the Grim Man told us at our briefing with Prince Diamond," said Emerald.  
Animal Instinct cried, "Yes. Hooray for the Wiseman and Grim Man!"  
"HOORAY!" cheered her companions.  
"And death to those who brought death to our loved ones," she added and they all echoed her enthusiasm.  
"DEATH TO THE EVIL ONES!"

So while Artemis was wandering around the outer grounds he thought to himself, "These animals all seem to be very happy here and the atmosphere is so peaceful. I guess there's nothing to worry about after all."  
Then he saw a group of people watching some cats and dogs do some remarkable tricks. Even Artemis had never seen such tricks before. They included "hand-standing" on their front paws, walking on their back paws upright like humans and standing on each others' backs forming pyramids. He was astounded like all the people were.

Animal Instinct, Doom and Gloom were supervising the show in their disguises and as the crowd applauded and cheered they all clicked their fingers and the animals eyes glowed red and they began to act savage spitting and snarling.  
"Daddy! What's happening?" cried a little boy.  
Some others shouted. "Call your animals off!" and "They're turning mad! Do something!"  
Animal Instinct, Doom and Gloom said nothing though and everybody turned and ran in fright, especially from the dogs. They screamed and yelled as they all made it through the exit to where some of them had parked cars. Slowly they realized that the animals were not following them beyond the boundary of the performing area and they became angry.  
"That was a sick, cruel joke that could have proved very dangerous!"  
"I'll say! What if some of us had been bitten?"  
"My children are in terrible shock!" A woman was cuddling her two sobbing children as she said this and other parents were doing the same to their own.  
"I'm going to report those people to the police! They did this on purpose! They did not even try to control those creatures!"  
Everybody agreed as they drove off and some gave lifts to those without cars. Especially whoever had distrought kids. They all fit in together as best they could and many of them phoned the police station to register a complaint.

Artemis had been horrified watching from a distance. "This is not normal. I must get the others. But wait a minute." He thought a moment. "I'll check this out first myself. This is my chance to prove to Luna and Serena that I'm heroic." With this thought in mind Artemis crept up and mingled with the other animals. He listened to the clan members talk amongst themselves. "You've done very well with your mind control Animal Instinct," said Doom.  
"The animals obey your every whim," said Gloom and Animal Instinct smiled.  
"Thank you." As soon as she said this she frowned though. "Wait a minute. I can sense that there is one animal present all of a sudden who is impervious to my charmed control."  
Doom and Gloom cried, "What?"  
"Are you absolutely sure?"  
"I strongly feel the presence of a mind unlike any ordinary animal."

Artemis began to get rather nervous and fearful that he had bitten off more than he could chew. Then Animal Instinct took charge.  
"I'll find out which it is," she declared and in response to her unspoken command all the animals performed their "handstand" maneuver. Artemis quickly attempted to do the same and fell flat on his face with a cry. "That's the one," shouted Animal Instinct and at a gesture from her a chain suddenly appeared in her hand and a metal collar snapped around Artemis' neck.  
As she pulled upon it dragging him towards her, he grunted. "L-let me go!"  
"A talking cat! I bet he's connected to the Sailor Scouts," said Doom, and he and Gloom produced a cage container in which they forced Artemis inside between them while Animal Instinct held him prisoner via the chain.  
She laughed. "Now they're definitely bound to show up to try to rescue their prized pussy." Artemis felt frustrated at being so helpless as they all jeered at him.

In the meantime two things were happening that would lead to further incidents at the Animal Shelter. First the police were preparing to dispatch two teams of officers in response to the public outcry against what had happened there. Four officers were armed with tranquilizer guns to protect themselves against attack when they sought to arrest the guilty workers who had been responsible.  
Second Serena and the other girls were gathered at the Cherry Hill Temple along with Rini and Luna. Raye was consulting the Sacred Fire imploring it to tell them where Artemis was. She raised her voice sharply as she half turned to her watching friends behind her. "The fire tells me that Artemis is at the Animal Shelter."  
"The Animal Shelter?" gasped Luna.  
Amy said in perplexity, "Why on earth would Artemis go there? He has a perfectly good home with Mina."  
Mina was almost in tears feeling hurt and rejected and Serena said, "It's all Luna's fault."  
"Luna's fault?" Everybody cried out astonished but Luna was incensed.  
"What do you mean my fault?"  
"Well you were laughing at him when he had his bouts of bad luck while he was at our home last time. You must have really hurt his feelings and so he ran away."

Luna was about to speak in protest when Rini suddenly spoke up. "Hey Serena! Weren't you laughing too?"  
Serena shut her eyes and scrunched her back in a grimacing reaction before turning to snap at her.  
"Who asked you to say anything you tattle-telling spore? Anyway you were laughing just as much as the rest of us!"  
Rini answered, "Okay, so if it was Luna's fault, then it was also partly yours and mine."  
Serena started to attempt to object spluttering, "Between yourself and Luna the real blame is," Then Raye cut her off loudly.  
"Knock it off Serena! We need to go to the Animal Shelter in order to persuade Artemis to return home with us, and to do that Luna, Rini AND yourself all need to apologize to him big time."  
Serena was shocked into silence by Raye's strong personality and as the others all nodded their heads and said Raye was right all her resistance melted.

"Okay. Let's get going," Luna shut her eyes and spoke sighingly.  
"Yes, we must not delay," said Rini. "I want him to come back deeply."  
Mina was literally ready to run as she jumped up. "I want him back desperately. I'm so lonely and my room is empty without him."

So they all set off. But the four police officers had driven to the Shelter and were already walking through the gates to face what was awaiting them. They cried out with their authoritative voices as soon as they saw Animal Instinct, Doom and Gloom standing around all the dogs and cats.  
"This is the law!"  
"We've come to arrest you for terrorizing people with those animals!"  
"You are advised to come quietly!"

The clan members didn't even say anything. Animal Instinct merely smiled and the eyes of all the dogs and cats glowed red and they began to turn to the officers snarling.  
Tranquilizer guns were immediately whipped out of holsters by them all and two of them also had tear-gas sprays for added protection. They raised all their defensive weapons as the large pack approached. But they were in for a terrible surprise. Doom and Gloom raised their right hands in simple gesture and they found that when they pulled the triggers and tried to squeeze on the spray nozzles nothing would happen. They were all completely frozen up.  
Even though Animal Instinct was not actually going to allow the dogs to bite or the cats to scratch anybody the officers had no way of knowing this of course. Faced with such a seemingly highly dangerous scenario they did what they knew was their only practical option. They turned around and retreated. With barking, hissing and other frightening sounds behind them they ran all the way back outside the main gates. They could not understand what was going on but they determined to report back at the station and get their guns and spray cans tested.

As the four officers ran out through the entrance, Serena and her friends saw them from across the other end of the block as they came round the corner. "Hey! What's going on?" asked Serena in bewilderment as they watched them pile into their police cars and drive off.  
"This looks suspicious," commented Amy.  
Before any of them could say anything further they all jumped in surprise as Nephlite materialized amongst them.  
"Nephlite!" cried Mina.  
"What does this mean?" exclaimed Raye.  
"I can tell you Sailor Scouts," he replied. "Those strange enemies you've been up against have taken over the Animal Shelter. They're controlling the animals and they've been scaring people with them. They also have your friend Artemis captive."  
"Oh no!" gasped Luna.  
"Is Tuxedo Mask on his way to help us?" Serena wanted to know and Nephlite bowed his head and answered.  
"Unfortunately this morning Darien was having a stroll in Mr. Baxter's park and some crazy young kid was recklessly zipping around on his bicycle, not even paying attention to where he was going. Before Darien knew it, he had been struck and knocked over. His ankle was twisted as he fell. Other than that he is only shook up. The kid was worse injured with a broken arm. Kind-hearted Darien refused to press any charges thinking he was punished enough. But he's laid up at his apartment resting and soaking his ankle."  
"Oh my poor Darien." Serena was very upset but Nephlite continued.  
"I gave him my word personally to help you and of course I will. I will meet you inside."  
With that he vanished.

Serena said, "We must transform at once. Let's duck into this alley to be sure nobody sees us."  
They all slipped into the secluded narrow lane in between buildings while Luna and Rini waited outside.  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
"MARS POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"  
"VENUS POWER!"

As they all came leaping out of the shadows Sailor Moon said to Rini, "You wait here while we all go with Luna to save Artemis."  
But Rini was not going to agree to this. "No! I will come too." She resolutely squeezed her ball to her chest with fire in her eyes.  
The others watched as Sailor Moon argued with her. "This is serious business Rini. It's no place for you."  
Rini had her retort ready in return and it struck Sailor Moon where it hurt the most. "If you don't let me come I will tell Darien next time I see him about how you pigged out on two entire bags of chocolate cupcakes all by yourself the other day."  
"You wouldn't!"  
"Oh yes I would!"  
"You know I promised him to stop being such a guts. He'd be devastatingly disappointed in me."

Rini did nothing but grin and wink at Sailor Moon while Luna and the others all sighed knowing what was inevitably going to be the result.  
Sailor Moon fell down upon her knees, placed her hands on Rini's shoulders and said, "Okay! Sure! You can come."  
Rini laughed in triumph although Sailor Jupiter did say, "But you must stay out of the way while we're all trying to reason with those poor brainwashed people Rini. Remember they want to get their hands on you especially."  
Sailor Mars added, "Yeah. We will protect you but you need to help us help you. Don't underestimate your danger."  
"You can depend on me to stay behind you of course," promised Rini. But secretly she thought that if a good opportunity came her way she would help somehow even at her distance.  
With this Luna said, "Enough time wasted girls. Let's go and help Artemis. Nephlite is waiting to aid us remember."  
So they all boldly entered the confines of the Animal Shelter to meet whatever was waiting for them.

Nephlite met them as promised just inside the entry grounds. "Sailor Scouts! I know where Artemis is being held. He is locked up in a cage inside the staff room where a woman with greenish hair is watching over the real staff who are tied up and gagged."  
"Oh dear. Poor Artemis," said Sailor Venus.  
Luna said, "What about the other clan members Nephlite?"  
"There are three others. Two men, one with light skin and the other dark. And a very weird woman with bright red skin. It is she who is controlling the animals."  
Luna said, "You girls must use your powers to incapacitate the animals without hurting them. Then deal with the clan members while I go to rescue Artemis."  
"I want to go with you Luna!" It was Rini who had spoken up like this and everybody stared at her.  
"But Rini. It will be very dangerous," began Sailor Mercury but Sailor Moon, knowing full well what Rini would say to Darien if she didn't get her way, nervously tried to speak.  
"Oh well. Couldn't we, um, work something out? Ah that is,"  
"I want to help save Artemis!" Rini was glaring at Sailor Moon and the others knew very well what the situation was.

But before anybody could react or think of anything to suggest Nephlite responded. "I will go with them and protect them. Then as soon as your friend is freed I will rejoin you at once."  
Everybody was relieved, especially Sailor Moon, but she said, "Thank you Nephlite. Only please don't do anything to harm that woman with green hair. She's not really evil. None of them are. They're misled and under evil control."  
Nephlite said, "I understand Sailor Moon. Follow me then and good luck to the rest of you."

As Luna and Rini followed him Sailor Mars said to the others, "But Sailor Moon. Why do you suppose all our efforts to heal the clan members since the terrible tragedy that killed poor Rubeus and his friends have failed?"  
"I wish I had the answer Sailor Mars." Sailor Moon was very worried indeed. "It's a most distressing mystery, but for now we must fight them and somehow defeat them without killing them. We must keep trying to save them."  
"That's right," said Sailor Jupiter. "No more dilly-dally. We have our job to do. Now!"  
The other Scouts all agreed unanimously so they went looking to find Animal Instinct, Doom and Gloom.

Meanwhile Emerald was enjoying a cup of coffee which she had prepared for herself. The four people she was guarding were very apprehensive as they were all lying prostrate on the floor, tied up from shoulders to ankles with very strong, thick ropes and gags secured around their mouths. Their eyes displayed abject terror as they gazed up at Emerald and she sighed sadly. "Please try to understand. None of us really like any of this but we mean you no harm whatsoever. As soon as we confront our enemies and destroy them, we will release you and we'll even alter your memories so you won't remember anything about your terrible experience."  
Just behind Emerald stood all the rows of cages. Every one empty except for one just off to her left in which Artemis was held prisoner. He silently cursed as he contemplated for what felt to him like the thousandth time how to escape. As usual he failed to form any sort of plan.

All of a sudden Emerald received a big surprise when Rini appeared in the doorway. "Hey! You can't catch me!" And with that Rini stuck out her tongue and blew a huge raspberry before disappearing.  
"What?" Emerald was momentarily dumbfounded. Then she sprang to her feet straight out of her chair as she set down her coffee cup. "I don't believe it! That was Rini! I must catch her, but first I'd better put the four of you into a very deep sleep once again so you can't get loose perchance."  
So saying she gestured magically and the poor people fell into a dreamless state of rest as Emerald ran out the door to try to see which way Rini went.

But she was unaware that Nephlite's ghost was waiting for her and he crept up behind her and very gently applied a small amount of his psychic, spirit touch upon a pressure point on the side of her head. He did not cause enough force to hurt her dreadfully. Only just enough to make her lose consciousness. He even grabbed her as she slumped forward and gently lowered her to the floor on her face.  
Luna and Rini had already taken their cue to run inside to free Artemis.  
"Artemis! We'll have you free in no time," exclaimed Luna.  
"Huh?" Artemis was very surprised to hear Luna's voice and as his attention was drawn towards her, Rini was preparing to magically open his cage.

Bouncing her ball she cried, "MINI MAGIC TRICKS! Unlock Artemis' cage at once."  
As she tossed the ball up into the air, it emitted magical energy that caused the lock on the cage to tremble and shake for a few seconds. Then it snapped apart and the door swung wide open. Artemis jumped down to the floor next to Luna.  
"Artemis, why did you come here all by yourself instead of letting us know about the clan's new plan?" She asked him.  
Artemis was feeling indignant still about the nagging and the jeering he had received and he griped at her. "None of your business!"  
Rini said, "But if you land yourself in hot water, then it is our business."  
Artemis wasn't in the mood to listen. "I don't have to stay around with people who give me a hard time such as yourselves. I'm off to show you I'm brave and heroic."

With that he ran off past Emerald's unconscious form and Rini shouted after him. "Wait a minute! You'd still be trapped if it wasn't for us!"  
Luna groaned. "Oh he's a stubborn mule. We must follow him. But remember Rini. You must stay out of sight while the Sailor Scouts deal with the rest of the immediate problem."  
"Sure, okay Luna."

Meanwhile the Sailor Scouts had approached Animal Instinct, Doom and Gloom and attempted to speak to them. As usual they had been ignored and Animal Instinct had directed all the animals to attack them. There weren't only cats and dogs in the pack by this time, but many kinds of animals including squirrels, ducks, rabbits, monkeys and even a couple of pigs. "Attack them and destroy them!" She shouted brandishing her whip in the air as if ready to crack it.  
"No! No!" Sailor Moon shouted hysterically, but her friends were prepared and two of them stepped forward to meet all the growling, savage beasts.  
"JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"  
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"

Mars and Jupiter combined their powers to create a wall of electrically charged fire. The flames rose high spitting out lightning sparks making the animals all back off whimpering fearfully. As they all backed away bunching up together tightly close, Sailor Mercury knew what to do to keep them out of their way and safely unharmed. Stepping forward as the wall of lightning fire began to die down and fizzle out she acted.  
"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"  
She summoned up a ring of her power that encircled all the startled animals and rose up into a very tall round open tower of ice. They were all greatly shocked, but trapped without being hurt.

Sailor Moon became very excited and jumping up and down, squealing like a piglet she shouted to her friends. "Well done! Well done! The three of you did a splendid job stopping all the animals and containing them! Oh, I'm so proud,"  
"Sailor Moon!" Sailor Mars cut her off. "Enough wild hysterics. We still have the clan members. Remember?"  
Sailor Moon was just turning around and saying, "Oh yes. That's right," when Animal Instinct struck.  
Sailor Moon had distracted her friends' attention for just a few moments, but that was all it took and as they all turned to address the clan once more Animal Instinct had thrown five collars at them simultaneously. Each Scout suddenly felt one of them snap around her neck and five chains magically appeared in Animal Instinct's hand. She pulled hard throwing them all off their feet face down on the ground.

"YEOW!" They all mutually yelled.  
"See what you've done Sailor Moon?" groaned Sailor Mars.  
Sailor Moon was too distressed to even argue back and Sailor Mercury cried out, "What are you doing?"  
Animal Instinct proclaimed grandly. "As long as I hold these chains you can't remove those collars and any second now they should begin very slowly to strangle you to death."  
Doom shouted. "At last you will die for the way you killed all our various family members!"  
"Prince Diamond and the others will be so joyful when we report back," chimed in Gloom.  
Sailor Moon and her friends tried to protest and plead their innocence but their words were cut off by their choking as they vainly tried to pry off the magic collars. It was looking like this would be their finish for sure this time.

Suddenly Artemis came bursting out of the bushes and before Animal Instinct, Doom or Gloom realized what was happening, he had run up and bit her on the arm. She gave a shrill, sharp cry of pain and as he proceeded to bite hard drawing blood he began to scratch her as well. Doom and Gloom were taken by surprise, but they quickly assessed the situation and began to move to help Animal Instinct.  
Luna and Rini were peering out from the bushes having just run up quietly and they were horrified.  
"Oh no! Artemis!" Rini gasped.  
"The poor brave fool," exclaimed Luna preparing to run out herself. However before she could make a move other help came to Artemis.

It was Nephlite. He materialized in front of Doom and Gloom making them pull themselves up in their tracks. They stared into his cold, stern, ghostly eyes nervously. Nephlite was an opponent they couldn't comprehend. They recognized his immense psychic powers and like any of the other clan members it truly scared them.

As they backed up, Animal Instinct couldn't take anymore and dropped the chains to the ground while she tried desperately to shake Artemis off. His teeth were clamped painfully in place though and she knew if he didn't let go her arm would be badly torn soon. Not to mention his relentless claws. But he really hated hurting her and immediately upon seeing her release the chains he was relieved and leapt to the ground leaving the Droid to contemplate her bleeding wounds. The five Sailor Scouts felt the collars relaxing their choking hold upon them and they jumped to their feet, pulled them off their necks as if they were thin strands of string and stood gasping to catch their breath.

Nephlite floated backwards to stand beside them along with Artemis. Doom said, "Retreat Animal Instinct! Use your ring to return to the future!"  
She certainly did not stop to argue. She activated her time travel device on the ring finger of her non-injured arm's hand and vanished while Doom and Gloom sank into the ground and rose up out of the floor inside the staff room looking for Emerald.  
They desperately searched the room, then Gloom went outside. "Hey Doom. I've found her."  
She was still unconscious. Her two brothers struggled to raise her up and though it was very difficult they successfully held her upright between them. Doom activated her ring with one hand while clutching her shoulder with his other. Awkwardly Gloom looped one arm around her limp arm and activated his ring so that as he dematerialized and she dematerialized, he was supporting her and keeping her safe by his side. Finally when they were gone Doom quickly activated his ring to follow his brother and sister back to the future. They had failed again. But they would destroy their enemies next time.

When the police arrived with reinforcements they discovered that everything was now under control, thanks to the Sailor Scouts. Nephlite was gone but he had directed the Scouts' attention to the prisoners, who had come out of their trance as soon as the clan members had departed and they were so happy and relieved to be untied and ungagged by their heroines. Sailor Mars had used her fire to melt the ice column releasing the animals and they were all friendly and docile now that the effects of the magic was all gone.  
"We have no idea who those creepy people were officers," said the manageress. "But we are indebted to the Sailor Scouts for rescuing us."  
The man who had picked up the stray dog and the abandoned kittens agreed. "Yes indeed. I don't know what they may have eventually done to us. Or to the poor animals for that matter."

A police officer said to the Scouts, "You girls are amazing. I'm sorry to hear the enemy escaped though. But if they try anything else of course you will deliver them to us for trial if you succeed in capturing them."  
Sailor Moon said, "Of course we will."  
"We are the Champion Defenders of this city," said Sailor Mercury.  
"We won't tolerate any wrongs committed against anybody in it," said Sailor Venus and the others agreed with an oath.  
They knew they couldn't say anything else. Nobody, let alone the police, would be able to understand the sad truth about these "evil criminals" but they were happy to hear about how deeply they and what they stood for were held in high esteem.

Rini had retreated to a secluded area of the compound with Luna and Artemis. They quietly sat on a park bench by themselves. Luna said, "Rini and I were very impressed with you today Artemis."  
"Yeah," said Rini. "You showed such bravery taking it upon yourself to free Sailor Moon and the others even though it's a good thing their friend Nephlite was there to occupy the other two from ganging up on you."  
Artemis had unfortunately been developing a bit of a swollen head during his endeavours to prove himself heroic. "Now wait a minute!" He stood up straight and stuck his nose up in the air. "I could certainly have handled the situation well on my own given the opportunity to do so."  
Luna and Rini both raised their eyebrows. "Are you sure about that?" Luna asked and Artemis began to brag.  
"Of course Luna. I'm bold, magnificent and awesome. I'm a mighty warrior. I'm invincible."  
Rini said, "I think you're just turning into a vain, boastful, pompous bighead."  
"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?" Artemis was incensed but Luna stood up for Rini, albeit nervously and blushing.  
"I wouldn't have said it quite like Rini did Artemis. But in principle I'm afraid I do agree with her."  
"Oh you do, do you? Well Luna, even if you doubt my capabilities I am still a superb hero. I can do anything."  
"Pride comes before a fall Artemis," warned Luna while Rini looked on in silence.  
"Oh yeah? Well watch this Luna. I saw some of the animals performing the most remarkable tricks while they were under the Black Moon Clan's control. This was one of them. I can replicate it because I'm so astounding."

Before Luna and Rini's eyes he proceeded to stand on his front paws and walk along the top of the bench. His muscles worked hard to hold himself upright and he grunted with his eyes scrunched up. Sweat built up on his face and body as he strained to keep his balance. "See?" He gasped. "Am I not incredible? Look at me. Look at-AAAAAAAHHHHHH"  
His front legs began to shake and buckle and finally collapsed under him. He hit his nose upon the wooden bench and then tumbled off before Luna or Rini could say or do anything. In spite of the old saying about falling cats he did not land gracefully upon his feet. He fell in a crumpled heap right on his back and lay there. He wasn't very badly hurt but he was dazed. Rini and Luna were decent enough not to laugh at him this time. Luna quietly thought to herself, "It's lucky Serena didn't see this. I'm not sure that she wouldn't have laughed once more."  
Rini kneeled down beside him. "Poor Artemis. Are you all right?"  
Artemis said nothing but he decided that he had better not form too great an opinion of himself from now on.


	20. Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Everybody in the Black Moon Clan was becoming rather anxious about the way things were turning out since Animal Instinct had returned, closely followed by Doom and Gloom with their sister unconscious. They had laid her on a bed and Injector had tended to her adopting her nurse personality. With her new ability to take on her old human form she tucked her inside the covers, fluffed up the pillows and gently soothed her forehead with a damp handcloth. Her two brothers had stood by the head and the foot of her bed deeply concerned and all the others, including Sapphire and even Prince Diamond himself called in to check on her at different times throughout the following hour and a half. Then finally she woke up with a groan and opened her eyes.

"Ooooohhh. What happened?" Injector gently supported her as she tried to sit up and Doom and Gloom moved forward to assist.  
"Take it easy sis."  
"We don't know what exactly happened to you. We found you knocked out and brought you back."  
"But what about the mission?" Emerald cried and Gloom answered her.  
"We had to abandon it. That spooky spectre showed up again."  
"Perhaps it may have had something to do with your unconsciousness?" Doom suggested.  
Injector said, "This is getting freaky. It's nothing short of miraculous that none of us who remain have died frankly."

Prince Diamond just so happened to be present at the moment when Emerald had regained consciousness and he spoke out loud and booming catching everyone's attention. "I couldn't agree more."  
All eyes turned to look at him standing with his arms folded in front of the open doorway. Another Droid Warrior was standing beside him. She was the only one of the Droids left who had not been sent out on a mission with Emerald and her brothers. She had pale, purple skin, short, red hair, pointed ears and a pair of red antennae that protruded from her head and twisted round in swirls. She wore long, wrinkled, black gloves reaching up past her elbows, long, black boots reaching all the way up to her thighs and a full black body suit. She also had a blue Dark Moon gem implanted just below her neck where the body suit did not cover her.

She spoke next. "My prince. May I have permission to make a proposition?"  
"Permission granted Mistrust."  
Mistrust grinned showing teeth resembling fangs and said, "It seems to me that with this ghost, wraith or whatever it is helping the Sailor Scouts we are at a big disadvantage. I suggest that while Emerald is taking a rest, I go with Doom and Gloom and seek to use my gifted powers of mind control to turn the Sailor Scouts against each other. Then not even that creepy spook will be able to aid them against us."  
Emerald and her brothers were all ears to this and Prince Diamond said, "Your idea sounds excellent Mistrust. Let me go and see our mentors and tell them about it. Wait here till I come back to deliver what they say."  
"Yes your highness."

Fifteen minutes later the prince returned full of jubilation. "The Wiseman and the Grim Man have agreed to your plan. You and Doom and Gloom are to get ready and meet me in the throne room in the next ten minutes. Sapphire will have your magic ring and a Dark Crystal Wedge ready for you Mistrust. Don't be late."  
"We will prepare ourselves at once Prince Diamond," said Mistrust.  
"Indeed we will none of us waste time," said Gloom.  
"You just relax and recover your strength sis," added Doom.  
Emerald lay back and grinned. "Very well. I just know in my heart that you will triumph Mistrust. Give her all the assistance you can dear brothers."  
"We will sis."  
Mistrust laughed, "My clan can always trust me and I know I can trust all of you too."  
Then they were off and Emerald chuckled to herself as she snuggled down into bed and closed her eyes.

In no time at all Sapphire had equipped Mistrust with her requirements. She placed her Wedge snugly inside her pocket and slipped her ring on her finger. Prince Diamond and all the others sent them on their way with cheers as she and the two brothers activated their rings to travel back in time to the old Tokyo city to face the Sailor Scouts once more.  
The trio appeared floating in mid-air high above the city and Gloom said, "I can't wait to spring our surprise upon the Sailor Scouts."  
But his brother suddenly said, "Wait a minute! The first big question is where can we find them."  
Gloom exclaimed with realization, "That's right! What we need is to do something to attract the Sailor Scouts' attention to us."  
Mistrust gasped. "Good point. None of us thought about this at the time. Not even our illustrious prince."  
"Well let's all think of a good plan," said Doom. They were so used to going out on missions which the Wiseman and the Grim Man had already schemed out for them.

The three of them stayed hovering thousands of feet above old Tokyo trying to think of an idea for about twelve minutes.  
Then Mistrust raised her right fist and shouted, "Hey Doom and Gloom! I thought of an excellent idea!"  
"Tell us Mistrust."  
"It's like this," she laughed and continued thusly. "In addition to my mind control I also have one more highly significant ability."  
"You mean your talent of creating physical clones of yourself?"  
"Exactly. They can exist for a maximum of approximately half an hour when I concentrate with all my might. They cannot speak but they can physically attack on my command. If I summon as many of them as I can and use them to frighten people without actually harming them, that will be sure to make the Sailor Scouts come investigating."  
Gloom said, "I see. And then you can dispel your clones and attack the Scouts' minds.  
"Precisely." She grinned.  
"I suppose it is necessary," said Doom and even Mistrust expressed reluctance.  
"Yes," she sighed. "Okay. I don't like it. But we won't injure anybody."  
Gloom agreed. "None of us. Not even Prince Diamond have been altogether happy about the directions we've recently been taking. But the Sailor Scouts have forced our hand. That's why we must hurry and destroy them. So we can leave the innocent in peace."  
His two companions agreed with him and they proceeded to carry out their latest scheme.

At that moment Amy and Lita were walking home from school together. Serena would have been with them but she had decided to say goodbye and take a detour to the Video Arcade. She had said, "I haven't played the Sailor V game for almost a week. I need to brush up my skills. Do you want to come with me?"  
"No thank you Serena. I want to go home and begin studying for next term's exams," said Amy.  
Serena couldn't believe it. "But we've just had the results of this term's exams at school today!"  
"Yes. But I only acheived 89%. I know that is an excellent pass but my dream is to surpass it next time. So I'm going to cram as much study as I can."

Serena did a face palm while Lita smiled. "As for me I promised my parents that I would come straight home and tell them how I went. I suppose you'll be telling your family your results when you get home Serena?"  
Serena gulped and blushed. "Er yes. Of course I'll show them my card with the result on it as soon as I get home."  
Lita said, "They won't mind you spending some time playing games at the Arcade before you do that?"  
"Oh no. They're the patient sort. I'll just enjoy myself for an hour and then go home."  
Amy and Lita had their suspicions about the score that was on Serena's card. However they said nothing but wished her goodbye and went on their way. Serena knew her mother and father would give her another of their lectures bemoaning the fact that she wouldn't even try to study to improve her grades and she wanted to have as much fun as she could before she had to face what was coming.

So Amy and Lita went their own way leaving Serena to do her own thing. But not too long after Serena was gone they met people running towards them in a frenzied panic.  
"What the?" Amy gasped and Lita reached out and grabbed a young man by the arm as he ran past.  
"Wait a minute!" She forced him to stop and turn to look at her. "Tell me what is happening to make all these people come rushing along so hysterically!"  
His eyes were like two ping pong balls and his face was white as he answered her. "It-it was terrifying. A swarm of weird identical creatures with antennae on their heads suddenly came swooping down waving their arms above our heads scaring the daylights out of us. They kept coming back at us again and again. We all freaked out and that's why we're running away. Now please let me go and don't go in that direction if you know what's good for you."

Crowds were still coming desperate to get away and the man ran off too as Lita released him in astonishment. Turning to Amy she said, "This has to be the work of the Black Moon Clan."  
"I agree Lita. Let's duck into this nearby shady alley and transform."  
They wasted no time.  
"MERCURY POWER!"  
"JUPITER POWER!"

Having transformed they called Raye and Mina on their communicators. "Raye. This is Sailor Mercury. I'm with Sailor Jupiter. Meet us on the way to the middle of town straightaway."  
Sailor Jupiter spoke to Mina. "There's something very weird going on. It must be the Black Moon Clan."  
Raye and Mina had been able to clearly hear what their two friends were saying to each of them respectively. Raye said, "I'm on my way. MARS POWER!"  
Mina said, "I'll call Serena to let her know. Then she and I will join you."  
"Roger and out." Sailor Jupiter hung up and she and Sailor Mercury began to run out of the alley. The crowd had thinned out and was all gone by the time they appeared and Sailor Mars was racing at superhuman speed to join them.  
However when Mina tried to contact Serena she hit a brick wall. Serena was so fretful over her parents and the bad grade she had to show them that she was concentrating all her attention on playing Sailor V to cover up her worries and she never even noticed her communicator humming inside her own pocket.

Giving up she turned to Artemis. "It's no use Artemis. She just won't answer."  
Artemis shut his eyes and sighed. "Very well then Mina. Transform and join the others. I shall run over to Serena's house and if she isn't there, Luna and I shall search for her."  
"Right Artemis. VENUS POWER!"  
Sailor Venus slipped out of her bedroom window. The usual magic charm on all the various Sailor Scouts' families kept them from missing them when they had to go out and fight in sudden emergencies as always. But Artemis was slightly annoyed as he rushed to Serena's house. "That girl must become more reliable. She is supposed to be the leader of the team."

The other four Sailor Scouts arrived at the scene simultaneously meeting each other in the midst of all Mistrust's clones. They were all flying back and forth overhead. But no sooner had the Scouts all pulled up to a stop from funning and looked up then they all disappeared.  
"They're gone!" exclaimed Sailor Venus.  
"What's going to happen now?" cried Sailor Jupiter.

On top of a nearby very tall building Mistrust, Doom and Gloom were crouched inconspiciously spying down on them. They peered sneakily over the top of the railing edge and Gloom said, "Four of them are here at least."  
Doom added, "You can begin with them Mistrust."  
Mistrust sneered showing her fangs. "Yes. I will turn them against each other. They will lose their mutual trust and then destroy each other."  
While she was speaking her antennae uncurled and bent in the middle forming a pair of L shapes and power sparked from the tips which were pointed down towards the Sailor Scouts in the deserted street below.

Suddenly the four Scouts momentarily winced and clutched their heads as if they had been struck with headaches. Then they turned towards each other and began to become angry.  
Sailor Mars pointed her finger at Sailor Mercury and said, "Why you little smart-alec. You've always considered yourself to be so brainy and a cut above the rest of us."  
Sailor Mercury was indignant. "How dare you accuse me of such a thing Mars? But you! You have always been antagonistic towards Sailor Moon. You were always picking fights with her and trying to put her down."  
"What exactly do you mean by this Mercury?"  
"You know what I mean! You wanted to be our leader and once you even tried to use mind control to make me elect you for the position. And you might have succeeded if Jupiter hadn't been strong enough to break your hold."  
"Well of course I should have been made leader you little wimp! And let me tell you,"

While they were fighting Jupiter and Venus were engaged in their own confrontation.  
"Go on and admit it. You've always considered me to be stupid, pining after my ex-boyfriend and comparing everybody I meet to him."  
"As if I'd care about your stupid personal love interests, you gawky, overgrown turkey. I bet you only said that just now to make me feel miserable about the fact that I'm lonely for somebody special in my life."  
"Turkey am I? You're an impertinent minx!"  
"I'll make you regret your words."

Up above Mistrust said, "See Doom and Gloom? The four of them have been taken over by my power and they will continue to bicker, fight and grow angry until all four of them come together and destroy each other with their own attacks."  
"Excellent Mistrust. Our sister would be laughing her loud, gleeful bellow if she were here."  
"Prince Diamond and the others will be very pleased. We are finally about to strike a significant blow against our bitter enemies to avenge the lives of our families and those of us who fell in battle."  
"Thank you." Mistrust was chuffed. "The next thing will be tracking down and killing those six traitors who went over to the Sailor Scouts' side. Executing them will be most satisfying."  
Doom and Gloom agreed. "Of course. But for now you'd better keep directing all your attention to the job in hand down below."  
"Yes. We don't want them to realize they're being manipulated."  
Mistrust said she understood and turned to keep watching them, gritting her teeth and concentrating hard. The tips of her antennae glowed and pulsated with energy.

Fortunately at that moment a rather chastised Sailor Moon came running along. What had happened was that Nephlite had appeared privately to Artemis and Luna in Serena's bedroom. He had told them where she could be found and that he would meet her when she went to help her friends.  
So Artemis and Luna had raced together indignantly to the Video Arcade and had pounced on Serena's lap taking her by surprise while she was at the Sailor V game.  
"Serena! What do you think you're doing?" Luna had angrily hissed in a low whisper and before she could offer a feeble protest Artemis hissed in turn.  
"The other girls have tried to contact you. There's another attack happening against the city."  
Hearing this Serena was instantly penitent and ashamed. "Oh no! Where are my friends?"  
"In the center of town," hissed Artemis.  
He and Luna jumped down. "Now get up and come with us at once."  
Serena stood up, snatched up her bag and followed them outside breaking into a run.

So Nephlite had met her and the cats just on the edge of the area where her friends were arguing hotly.  
"Sailor Moon!" He had cried urgently, "Your friends need help! Transform quickly! There's not a soul to notice you!"  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Sailor Moon quickly transformed and ran towards her friends. "Wait! It's all right! I'm here to help you!"  
"There's Sailor Moon Mistrust," said Doom.  
"Get her too." Gloom pointed with his finger as he spoke and Mistrust laughed.  
"Ha! First I'll get them to bad mouth her. Then she'll be pulled into the inevitable fight."  
Sailor Moon's friends all turned to look at her with wide eyes. A second later Sailor Mars pointed at her and scoffed.  
"You help us? That's a big joke Sailor Moon!"  
Sailor Moon did a double take. "Er. W-what?"  
"You're a pathetic whiner. You know what I mean," continued Sailor Mars and the others began to follow her lead.  
Sailor Mercury sneered, "A donkey has more intelligence than you."  
Sailor Jupiter snapped, "You're a clumsy jerk!"  
Sailor Venus added, "You're lazy, greedy and sulky!"

Sailor Moon started to cry with the hurt of her friends stinging remarks and Mistrust prepared to draw her also into her mind control so that she'd begin to fight back.  
Luna and Artemis were very concerned and called out to Sailor Moon and the others to snap out of it. But Nephlite said, "Don't worry. I know what to do."  
And concentrating hard he sent a psychic message to Sailor Moon's mind to counter-attack the message from Mistrust. "Sailor Moon. Stand up for yourself. Be proud of who you are."  
Sailor Moon heard him clearly and shouted out loud and boldly. "Yes, you're all right! I am clumsy and my vices are bad! I am too lazy to try to gain any intelligence through studying! I am also a pig when it comes to sweets! I will not try to deny it!"  
Mistrust was so shocked that her concentration over the other Scouts was shattered.  
Sailor Mars smiled and said, "Well thank you for being honest."  
Her other friends all said, "We love you just the way you are."  
"Even with all your faults."  
"You're our friend forever."  
They all shared a big group hug while Mistrust gibbered in shock and disbelief.

But Doom and Gloom grabbed one of her shoulders each and gently shook her.  
"Pull yourself together Mistrust."  
"Yeah. You must try something else at once."  
"Okay! Okay! I'll use my clones."

Mistrust summoned up some more of her copies and cried out, "Go down there and beat those five girls to death!"  
At least twenty clones obediently went soaring from the rooftop down towards Sailor Moon and her friends. "LOOK OUT!" shouted Artemis.  
"ABOVE YOU!" screamed Luna and the girls all looked up and gasped in horror.  
There was no time to begin to fight against them. There were too many and they were moving too fast. "Run for cover!" Sailor Mars urged them all and they ran in different directions with their arms shielding their heads. However Sailor Moon stumbled over her own feet and fell on her face and the clones reached out to grab her where she lay.

But before any of the others had even realized the danger Sailor Moon was in, let alone be ready to turn and fight after running away from the main attack, the clones all vanished into thin air. Sailor Moon rolled over on her back hardly comprehending what had happened and the others, including Luna, Artemis and even Nephlite all glanced up from where the clones had come from.  
"Look!" Sailor Venus shouted pointing. "It's Tuxedo Mask!"

Yes indeed. Tuxedo Mask had come. His ankle was still a little bit sore though and he was clearly at a disadvantage as he struggled to fight Doom and Gloom after having broken the concentration of Mistrust with a well thrown rose past her face.. He valiently swung his cane at the brothers but he was wincing and grunting with the pain every time he put weight on his ankle. Finally he tried to hop on one foot but Doom and Gloom finally managed to seize him between them.

To the horror of all, especially Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask was lifted up and thrown off the roof. "NOOOOOO! Not my Tuxedo Mask!"  
But Nephlite rose into the air and concentrating hard he caught Tuxedo Mask and held him safely in his ghostly hands. The energy exerted by Nephlite was an enormous effort on his part in order to prevent Tuxedo Mask hitting the pavement below with a dreadful crash. He descended slowly and deposited him safely on his good foot next to Sailor Moon. She hugged him and cried, "Thank you Nephlite."  
Tuxedo Mask said, "I agree. You saved me."  
However Nephlite shouted, "Behind you! Sailor Mercury!"

They all turned around and saw that the real Mistrust had made her way down to the ground and she was standing before them with an angrily determined expression on her face. Her antennae were glowing white at the tips and she shouted, "Never mind my clones or my mind control now. I'm just simply going to strike you all dead. I have more than enough power to deliver a fatal blow."  
Sparks were beginning to hiss and sputter from the bright white appendages that were bent and pointed first of all at Sailor Mercury. Everybody gasped in terror, but Sailor Mercury did some quick thinking and acted in self defence.

"SHINE AQUA ILLUSION!"  
Before Mistrust's antennae were fully charged up and ready to emit their deadly blast, Sailor Mercury summoned up her strongest possible freeze attack and aimed it at Mistrust's face. Mistrust shrieked and instinctively raised her hands to protect herself just before it hit her. A thin sheet of ice formed over her face and hands and her antennae turned to icicles and disintegrated into powder.  
While Mistrust grunted and struggled, Nephlite materialized behind her and reached into her pocket pulling out the Dark Crystal Wedge. He drifted back towards Sailor Mercury holding it high and shouting, "You can successfully heal her now this thing has been removed from her person."  
Sailor Mars acted fast. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
At the very moment when Mistrust broke the ice sealing her hands to her face with an enormous effort the charm slapped on her. "What's this? Save me!" She screamed as Sailor Moon took her turn.  
"MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
Mistrust began to shake and tremble as the healing began its work, however Doom and Gloom quickly rose up out of the ground by her feet and before the healing had barely begun, they had activated Mistrust's time travel ring and their own. They took her away back to the future in the same way they had previously done with their sister when she had been unconscious.  
"Oh no!" cried Sailor Moon.  
"We came so close to finally healing another member of the clan," said Sailor Mercury forlornly.

Back at Crystal Tokyo the Wiseman and the Grim Man had to work fast to maintain their power over Mistrust and the others. Mistrust had been very upset when she had materialized in Prince Diamond's throne room with Doom and Gloom. "The Sailor Scouts did something to me," she said hysterically. "I began to have visions of myself and the other four Droid Warriors plus all the others who died except for Thunderclap and Hypnotica. We were all children in what looked like an orphanage for girls. But how could that be? None of us were ever in orphanages. The Sailor Scouts killed our families and our two mentors saved us and took us to a far-off uninhabited asteroid."  
Marzipan, Regalia, Injector and Animal Instinct were all looking at each other in confusion. Doom and Gloom were perplexed and so were Prince Diamond, Sapphire and Emerald, who had recovered enough to get out of bed by this time. She in particular gasped and said, "What can this mean?"  
The Prince himself rose from his throne and turning to face their "mentors" repeated her question to them. "Yes Grim Man. Wiseman. What can this mean?"

The Wiseman gesticulated as usual over his crystal ball and answered. "Simple your highness. The Sailor Scouts managed to steal Mistrust's Crystal Wedge. Without its protection she began to fall victim to the brainwashing we warned you all about."  
The Grim Man raised his scythe above his head and his eyes glowed red just like the Wiseman's sending surges of influence washing over everybody, especially Mistrust. They all went into a semi-trance and relaxed coming to the conclusion that what their guardians said was the truth.  
Then Sapphire was instructed to press his hand against Mistrust's Dark Moon gem and they channeled other power through him into her so that her antennae grew back again.  
Then the Grim Man said, "Since the enemy have a Dark Crystal Wedge to study, we need to do something else to stay one step ahead of them. The Wiseman and I will think of a new plan and let you know.  
Prince Diamond said, "I speak for us all when I say thank you. We know we can always depend on you."

Meanwhile back in the past the Sailor Scouts, Luna and Artemis were all thanking Tuxedo Mask and Nephlite for their help. "I don't know what the girls would have done without both of your timely assistance," said Luna.  
Tuxedo Mask smiled. "It is my solemn duty and obligation to protect my sweet Moon Princess and the rest of my allies." Then Sailor Moon ran to him and they shared a deep, intimately tender hug while Nephlite handed over the Dark Crystal Wedge he had taken from Mistrust to Sailor Mars.  
"I think you will want to examine this very closely with your psychic powers at your temple," he told her as she took it in her hand and looked at it.  
Sailor Jupiter remarked, "I just bet that this has something to do with why we have been failing to heal those people lately."  
"I think you're right Jupiter," said Sailor Mercury.  
Sailor Mars scrutinized it with one eye shut tight. "I will certainly find out what its secrets are. Thank you Nephlite. This may be a very vital clue for us."

Nephlite then offered to help Tuxedo Mask get home to rest his ankle. "You must give it as much time as possible to finish getting better."  
He gratefully accepted and after final goodbyes, he allowed Nephlite to support him as he raised his bad foot off the ground. It was quite an amazing sight to see him soar up and out of sight launching himself on his good foot and the transparent ghost hovering unbelievably by his side. It was indeed remarkable how Nephlite was able to still sometimes hold things when he chose to do so.

So in conclusion the Sailor Scouts all went their own way, Artemis naturally going with Sailor Venus and Luna with Sailor Moon. Sailor Mars clutched the Wedge tightly in her hand. She wanted to present it to the Sacred Fire the first chance she had after Chad and her Grandfather had gone to bed that night.

As for the explanation of where Rini had been all this time, she had been laid up in bed at home all day sick with the flu. Mother had been looking after her in between coping with her daily chores while Father was at work and Sammy and Serena were at school. Since Sammy had arrived home he had been helping to cool poor Rini's burning hot forehead with a washer soaked in water.

But just as Serena had feared as soon as she and Luna arrived home she had to hand in her test result to her mother. As soon as she saw it she screamed. "YOU FAILED AGAIN?! SERENA HOW MANY TIMES DO YOUR FATHER AND I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO PULL YOUR SOCKS UP? YOU ARE FORBIDDEN TO GO TO THE VIDEO ARCADE FOR THE NEXT THREE WEEKS! NO! I MEAN IT SERENA! YOU REALIZE WHAT YOUR FATHER WILL SAY WHEN HE HEARS ABOUT THIS?"  
Sammy and Rini could hear all of Mum's furious bellowings all the way upstairs to Rini's room. Sammy lifted the washer from Rini's forehead and grinned and winked at her. "Same old story. That silly Serena never learns."  
Rini managed to give a smile despite her illness. Then she replied, "Yes. Foolish Meatball-Head."

Then as Sammy dipped the washer in the bucket of water again, he and Rini laughed together. Her laugh was cut off by two short coughs and Sammy wrung the washer out and put it back on her head. All the time Serena cringed and whimpered while her mother's reprimand kept booming on for them both to hear and smile at.


	21. Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

It was the day after the incidents that had been set in motion by Mistrust. Rini had stayed behind from school all day sick in bed while Serena had gone to school feeling dejected. Her parents' scathing rebukes over her last exam results were still burning like fire in her memory. All throughout the morning she could barely keep herself focussed on what Miss Haruna was saying to avoid further distress.

Back home Luna and Artemis had been watching over Rini in between the visits Serena's mother made to make sure Rini was all right. She gave Rini her medicine and some small amounts of food to keep her strength up such as yoghurt and fruit. She also made sure Rini's forehead was regularly sponged and that she drank water and fruit juice at intervals. "My poor little niece. You get plenty of rest to make sure you recover."  
Rini looked up at her and said gratefully, "Thank you Auntie."  
Her "Auntie" fondled her cheek affectionately and left to perform some of her housework. Rini closed her eyes and went to sleep while Luna and Artemis snuggled up at the foot of her bed to take naps themselves.

Later that afternoon Mother took Rini's temperature and said happily, "Why Rini. Your fever is going down. How do you feel?"  
Rini sat up and said, "You know I feel much better. Do you suppose I'll be well enough to go back to school tomorrow?"  
Mum grinned and replied, "Probably Rini. I wish Serena was keen about school as much as you. You always get excellent grades."  
Luna and Artemis smiled quietly as Rini said, "School's such fun. Also I have a very good friend there."

Before Mum could say anything in reply there came a knock on Rini's bedroom door. "Who is it?" Rini called out.  
The door opened and Serena walked in. "It's me Rini. Hello Mum. How are you feeling Rini?"  
"I'm much better," said Rini.  
"She certainly is Serena."  
"I'm very pleased to hear that Mum and so are my friends."

To the mutual surprise of Rini and Mum, Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina all entered saying hello. Rini was delighted. "How nice of you all to visit me."  
Amy said, "We also brought you a surprise Rini."  
"A surprise! What is it?"  
Serena said, "Here she is," and a girl around Rini's age with short, brown hair entered. It was Rini's friend from school, Melissa.  
Rini was so excited that she jumped out of bed and ran to hug Melissa before Mum realized it.  
"Melissa! I'm so happy to see you!"  
"I've missed you too Rini. Can you come back to school tomorrow?"  
"I hope so."  
Mum took charge. "Well Rini. Please don't get too excited. You really need to still rest in bed until tomorrow to make sure you don't get a relapse."  
"Okay Auntie." So Rini lay back down while Melissa sat in a chair next to her so they could chat. Mum left them to be together and Serena and her friends all sat together on the floor drinking tea at a small table.  
Artemis and Luna shared in the joy of seeing Rini looking so happy and in good spirits.

But that night at one am something very weird was happening. Two giant Dark Crystal Wedges as tall as forty foot pine trees suddenly materialized at the school Melissa and Rini attended. One in the grounds near the opening gateway and the other at the opposite end in the backyard with the school in between.  
Regalia and Animal Instinct appeared and gesturing with their arms directed very strong magic into the Wedge at the front while Mistrust and Marzipan did the same thing to the Wedge at the back.

As soon as the enormous structures were glowing golden orange and shining brightly the four Droids all disappeared and reappeared on top of the roof of the school building. Doom and Gloom were standing there to meet them and so was Emerald, running her pink comb through her greenish hair as always.  
"Is everything ready?" she asked them.  
"We've set up our Wedge Emerald," said Marzipan.  
"Likewise our Wedge," said Animal Instinct.  
"Good work," laughed Doom.  
"The Wiseman and the Grim Man had an excellent idea to lend immense amounts of their power to Sapphire so that he could create those two giant Dark Crystal Wedges," said Gloom.  
"They will emit wavelengths powerful enough to neutralize anything the Sailor Scouts may have concocted to counteract the protection the usual Wedges we used to carry in our pockets since they managed to steal that one off Mistrust." Emerald said this then gave her booming laugh in anticipated triumph.  
Doom said, "Now in the morning as the children come to school all of us must be ready and waiting to brainwash them and make them run riot making all the teachers flee in terror."  
Gloom continued. "Then when the Sailor Scouts hear of this and come to check things out we will strike hard and finally destroy them. And not even that weird wraith or spectre or whatever it is will be able to stop us if it turns up to help them."  
Emerald, Doom, Gloom, Marzipan, Regalia, Animal Instinct and Mistrust all clasped their right hands together and shouted. "We will destroy them all for our family members!"

As for Injector, she had stayed behind in the future to keep an eye on all the citizens of the Crystal Tokyo Kingdom who were still under the thumb of Prince Diamond, through the power of their two evil mentors.  
Rini and Melissa were in for a terrible shock the next morning.

When the day dawned Rini was completely better with all trace of the flu gone. She was all excited when she woke up and dressed. Before she went downstairs to breakfast she stuck her head in Serena's bedroom door and called out.  
"You'd better get up Serena. School today."  
Serena woke with a start. "Huh? Wha? Oh Rini! I'm perfectly capable of organizing myself, thank you."  
"Okay, but don't be late."  
Rini was gone before Serena could express any further resentment. Luna was still curled up deeply asleep on the floor and Serena lay back on her pillow grumbling to herself. "I set my alarm myself as Luna told me to last night. When it goes off I will wake up. In plenty of time."  
With that she yawned and went back to sleep.

Unfortunately when she set the alarm she had set it for 7pm instead of 7am. She had gone to bed after 7 last night having set the digital alarm clock to go off at approximately 7 the following night.

Rini had her breakfast, said goodbye to her family and went walking to school with Melissa, who had come to call on her that morning.  
"Hi Rini. I'm so delighted to see you still looking so good."  
"I'm feeling the very best Melissa. See you later dear Uncle, Aunt and Cousin Sammy."  
"I must get going to my own school. Have a good day Rini," said Sammy hugging her quickly. Then he did the same to his parents.  
"Goodbye Rini. Goodbye Sammy." Mum paused a moment and said, "Where is Serena?"  
"I told her to get herself ready before I came down. She said she could manage herself," said Rini.  
Dad rolled his eyes and sighed. "She's going to be late again. Mum and I had better go upstairs and get her moving."  
"What are we going to do with her?" Mum moaned and Sammy went his own way grinning and thinking to himself that Serena was such a hopeless ditz while Rini and Melissa went their way merrily together.

As for Serena, her mother and father desperately shook her awake to her sleepy confusion. "Wake up Serena! Wake up!" cried Dad.  
"Huh? Wh-wha?" Serena yawned as she spoke next. "Dad? Mum? What are you doing?"  
"Young lady. You're going to be hopelessly late again," cried Mum in a despaired tone.  
"But I set the alarm. It hasn't gone off yet."  
Dad said firmly, "If you'd set it properly it would have gone off by now. Look at the time!"

So saying Dad shoved the clock in front of Serena's face and she could see that her parents were right. She screamed so loudly that Luna woke up in a fright.  
"Oh no! Miss H will chew me up and spit me out!" Serena ran around desperately trying to get her school uniform to change in and ran into the bathroom while Luna quietly moaned about her stupidity.  
"Will she ever learn?" She quietly groaned to herself and poor Mum tried hard to make sure she was ready. She sighed as she entered the bathroom to find that Serena had put her clothes on back to front in her haste.

Meanwhile as Rini and Melissa arrived at their own school they were astonished. "Hey Rini. What is that strange structure inside the gate?" asked Melissa pointing at it.  
"I don't know Melissa. It sure is unusual, isn't it?" Rini was at least slightly suspicious and hugged her bag tightly to her. Her ball that she used to keep in contact with her dear friend Sailor Pluto was stored inside and she drew confort from it. Ever since she had lost her time key Sailor Pluto had been working as hard as she could to magically create an alternate way for her to return home and bring Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and everybody else to help save her mother and all the rest of the people who were dear to her.  
Inside all the other kids and the teachers were standing around looking at the Wedge and wondering what it was and where it had come from. Some kids were running over to say the other one had just been discovered. Even people passing by in the street were astounded and began to spread the news.

Then the bell rang. "Okay boys and girls. Time to begin classes and forget these weird, enormous things," said the principal and the teachers herded them away. Melissa and Rini went along with their class group.

But as soon as they were all inside the Black Moon Clan, who were gathered together up on the roof above them made their move. "Now let us all combine our concentration and activate those Wedges everybody." Emerald stuck her pink comb inside her hair as she spoke and she and the others all raised their hands, shut their eyes and channeled all their energy into the Wedges to activate them.

As Rini and Melissa sat down at their desks, suddenly they flinched for a moment like all the other students. Their teacher had been facing the class about to speak and she responded upon noticing this. "Are you all okay? What just happened?"  
Without even speaking Rini and all her classmates jumped up and began to bellow and scream, running around and making a mess of the classroom. To the teacher's abject horror they pulled things out of drawers and cupboards throwing them everywhere and even tipped over some of their desks and chairs. "WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? CEASE AT ONCE! YOU'LL BE SEVERELY PUNISHED!"  
She reached out and grabbed a boy in one hand and Rini's friend Melissa in the other. But the boy kicked her hard in the shin and Melissa bit her. She released them shrieking in pain and fright. Then when they all gave her a black warning stare she became shocked and trembling. Backing her way out to the door she exited and ran away while the children started to tear their textbooks and and throw whatever they could pick up at the walls and the blackboard with ugly sounding crashes. She was met by the principal and all the rest of the staff also retreating. Most of them too had also attempted to arrest some students and been kicked, punched or bitten in various places.

"This is very distressing. We shall have to call in the authorities. I don't understand why those children have gone ape, but I hope they can be subdued without hurting them," said the principal as they poured out through the school gate past the Wedge that still glowed and pulsated with evil power.

At that very moment Serena came desperately racing along with Luna right behind her. She was seriously late due to having to get dressed again properly with Mum's assistance while Dad prepared himself to leave for work. At least he had plenty of time to leisurely walk to his office building. Not like his silly daughter who desperately took off like a rocket in the direction of her school. He shook his head in exasperation.  
Luna had been telling her off while they ran but they just so happened to pass Rini's school on the way and Luna saw from across the street all the teachers running out in a frenzied panic. Then she saw the huge Wedge.

"Wait Serena!"  
"I can't stop Luna. I'm already in dreadful trouble." Serena hadn't even noticed anything and kept running. As she turned the corner, Luna put on a massive burst of speed and sprang with all her strength upon Serena's back. Digging her claws gently in to stop her she held on tight as Serena pulled up to a sudden stop nearly tumbling over her own feet.  
"Yeeeooooww! Luna! What do you think you're doing?"  
"Just turn around and look behind the corner back at Rini's school and tell me what you see Serena."  
Serena tried to protest but Luna insisted. "As much as I dislike causing you pain Serena, you know that when I say something I mean it. Now don't try to shake me off or I'll have no choice but to dig in deeper."  
"V-very well Luna."

As Serena turned in obedient consent Luna jumped down to the ground. Gasping Serena cried, "Th-that looks like the thing that Nephlite helped us obtain from the clan the last time we faced them. Only it's ENORMOUS!"  
"Exactly Serena. I saw all the teachers running away down the street like frightened rabbits. But I didn't see or notice Rini or any of the other children with them. We must investigate it."  
Serena pulled out her communicator. "Hey! What are you doing?"  
Serena was taken aback. "I was going to call my friends of course."  
"No Serena. The others cannot join us at the moment."  
"What? Why not Luna?"  
"Think Serena. They are all in school at the moment listening to their teachers. They can't leave their classrooms to transform now, can they?"  
Serena lowered her communicator and slipped it back in her pocket muttering, "That's where I'm supposed to be too. Miss H will be furious."  
"Snap out of it Serena! You need to go in there to check things out."  
Serena's mood changed to her scared and whiny cowardish manner. "Oh no. I have to face things on my own?"  
"You did it when you needed to before we met the others Serena. Come on."  
"But this looks especially creepy Luna. Wait! I know what I need. A disguise." She remembered something she had not used for a very long time, but still carried around with her. She had not really needed it particularly in her encounters against the Black Moon Clan so far, still she produced it to Luna's surprise.  
"The magic Disguise Pen? Serena, really! There's no reason for this. Just transform into Sailor Moon."  
"No Luna. I can't do this alone. Not as Sailor Moon at first. DISGUISE POWER! CHANGE ME INTO A," Serena began to stumble over her words. "Uh, ah. OH A GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL OR SOMEBODY WITH AUTHORITY!"

In the next five seconds Serena was dressed in dark brown business top and skirt. She also had dark glasses, black shoes and her hair was short and well combed. She even held an attache business case in one hand. "I'm ready Luna."  
"This is ridiculous," groaned Luna in disbelief as she followed Serena into the school grounds heading for the main building.

Once inside Serena ran up the stairs to the main classrooms and found Rini, Melissa and all the other children gathered around like mindless zombies. She was shocked to see the mess they had made of their school. They had even thrown things such as blackboard erasers and whatever else they could pick up through the windows and the glass frames of the doors. Shards of broken glass were everywhere although they had not harmed each other at all and had avoided going anywhere near the areas of sharp danger. The clan members had them under such perfect control to cause mayhem and destruction while looking out for their safety and that of the adults they had driven away.

Serena tried to talk to Rini first of all, holding up her attache case in both hands in front of her chest nervously. "Rini. It's, ah m-me. Serena."  
Rini said nothing and she and the others began to advance threateningly.  
Serena gulped and stammered. "V-very well. I'm a r-representative of the g-g-government and by the power invested in m-m-me, I hereby c-command you all to cease this m-m-mischief."  
Rini and her classmates all picked up brooms and any other large things they could carry and swung them warningly. Even though none of the clan really wanted to hurt anybody, Serena had one of her panic attacks and ran away screaming. Luna followed her into a vacant science room that was still in one piece and shouted, "SERENA! ENOUGH NONSENSE! TRANSFORM NOW!"

Serena jumped with a start and gasped. "Okay Luna. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Sailor Moon quickly appeared and up above on the roof all the clan members suddenly gasped themselves. They were psychically observing everything below them while controlling the children, but their concentration was momentarily cut off.  
"That person is Sailor Moon in disguise!" shouted Animal Instinct.  
Rini and Melissa had also ran inside after Serena leading the other kids and as the clan's power over them was lifted, they were all amazed to see Sailor Moon as well.  
"Sailor Moon! What is going on?" shouted Rini lowering the broom in her hands.  
"What has happened to our school Sailor Moon?" Melissa was astounded and the others all looked around perplexed and shocked at the destruction. None of them suspecting they had done it themselves in spite of the things they were all clutching hold of still.  
Sailor Moon was immensely relieved to see them all calm down. "I'm not sure myself. But I must get you all out of here."

On the rooftop Regalia suddenly recognized Rini. "Hey! One of those two girls up in front of Sailor Moon is the Small Lady we've been trying to capture."  
"Regalia is right," cried Mistrust and Marzipan and Animal Instinct both shouted.  
"It's her indeed!"  
"Small Lady and Sailor Moon!"  
Emerald, Doom and Gloom were astounded, but they quickly took charge again. "Hurry everybody. We must control all the children again so that they will beat Sailor Moon to death."  
"All of them? Even the Small Lady?" asked Animal Instinct.  
"Yes," Emerald continued. "Then we can make her come with us after our bitter enemy is dead."

So they all carried on channeling their power together. Melissa and the others all rose their weapons again with vacant staring eyes once more. Sailor Moon cried out, "Oh no! Not again!"  
She backed away as Melissa ran forward and swung at her. She just struck her knee and Sailor Moon gasped hopping on one leg rubbing where she was hit.

Then Luna yelled, "Look out!" as the kids all swarmed forward before Sailor Moon knew what was happening. This time they really were out to cause harm and Sailor Moon fell on her backside with a crash. She desperately tried to crawl away, but the children had her surrounded. "Luna! Help me!"  
She covered her head with her arms whimpering as she was struck by one weapon after another.

However Rini wasn't with them. As soon as the mind control had invaded her she had screwed up her eyes and gripped the broom very tightly. She knew she was being told to attack. But this was Sailor Moon and she fought hard to resist.  
While Sailor Moon screamed for help and Luna watched in horrified helplessness, Rini heard a familiar voice say to her, "Rini. Be strong. You can resist them."  
She also felt her bag upon her back being opened and hands reaching in to withdraw something. Opening her eyes she saw white gloved hands holding her blue ball in front of her. "Take this Rini. You must help Sailor Moon."  
Looking up she saw the familiar figure of Tuxedo Mask in his top hat, cape and mask staring down at her. Dropping the broom so that it clattered to the floor, she took the ball off him knowing immediately what to do. She squeezed it so that the radio antennae popped out and she desperately called to Sailor Pluto. "My dear friend. If you can hear me please respond. I need your help to overcome the enemy who's invading my mind trying to cloud my senses."

Standing by her post in front of the door to time Sailor Pluto heard her. Raising her scythe high above her head she called out to her in return. "I do hear you Small Lady. I am sending my power to you. Channel it and free yourself and your friends who are with you."  
Rini opened her eyes wide and the golden crescent moon appeared glowing on her forehead.  
"What is happening?" shouted Marzipan.  
"This energy is weakening all of us," gasped Mistrust.  
Emerald clenched her fists and growled. "I recognize it. It's that mysterious woman known as Sailor Pluto. She's working with the child against us."  
"No," said Doom.  
"We must all fight together," said Gloom and the others all desperately attempted to support each other. But it was no use and they all fell to their knees, then down on all fours gasping for breath. Even Emerald, though she was furiously gnashing her teeth.

Inside the building Melissa and the rest of the kids all lowered their weapons and backed away confused from Sailor Moon. She rose from the floor rubbing her bumps and bruises. However Tuxedo Mask had disappeared.  
"Don't worry children. J-just follow me outside and be very careful." Sailor Moon calmed herself and the kids all trustingly followed her as she led the way. Rini, still clutching her ball like it was her lifeline, took up the rear with Luna.

As Sailor Moon led them outside she was very surprised to see her friends, the other Sailor Scouts waiting in the grounds to meet her. The children were all very happy to see them. "All the Sailor Scouts are here. Hooray!"  
"There's nothing to worry about now."  
Sailor Moon couldn't understand how they all managed to come when they were supposed to be in school. Nor could Luna. However this was no time to ponder it.  
"Sailor Mercury. You and Sailor Venus escort all these children to safety. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter. You stay with me to confront any of the clan."  
Sailor Mercury said, "Sure thing Sailor Moon."  
"Follow us children," said Sailor Venus and they all complied. Even Rini, who turned her head and called out to the other three Scouts.  
"Please be very careful."  
Luna stayed behind too.

Sailor Mars said, "I analyzed that small version of those two large statues. They give off a magical aura that counteracts our powers of healing, so we can't debrainwash them."  
Sailor Jupiter said, "If we couldn't heal them before, those giant things must be making it way beyond impossible to save them."  
"Couldn't we destroy it before any of them show up?" cried Sailor Moon.  
"We could certainly try but even if we were successful there is still the second one on the other side of the school grounds," Sailor Mars pointed out.  
Luna said, "You'll just have to try to reason with them very carefully and try not to hurt them."  
The three Scouts were glancing around very worriedly for any sign of somebody approaching.

They had forgotten though that Doom and Gloom had the power to rise up out of the ground and take them from surprise behind. They gave a combined resounding battle cry as they flew up prepared to strike the three Scouts a very hard blow. However a red rose flew past in front of them sticking into the ground distracting them and giving Sailor Moon and her friends time to turn and face them. Doom and Gloom gasped as they noticed Tuxedo Mask standing several feet away at the very top of the ladder up the slippery dip in the playground. He spoke loudly. "Sailor Moon. You must try your very best to do your duty. These people need to learn how very wrong they are."  
"Yes Tuxedo Mask. I know what I must do."

She took off her tiara and it instantly changed to her Moon Scepter. Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter guessed what the idea was and they prepared to act too.  
Doom and Gloom were scared half to death. They immediately began to sink back into the ground assuming that Sailor Moon was about to try to eliminate them.  
"Hey! Don't let them get away," cried Sailor Mars.  
"I'll stop them," said Sailor Jupiter. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!" She sent her electrical energy shooting into the ground under the surface where Doom and Gloom had vanished and as it struck them they were forced out of hiding back to the surface. Then Sailor Mars slapped one of her charms on each of their faces while they lay sprawled stunned on their backs. Next the two of them combined their powers with Sailor Moon to attack not the brothers, but the giant Dark Wedge nearby.  
"MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
"MARS FIRE IGNITE!"  
"JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"  
The trio directed all the strength they could summon towards the Wedge. They didn't manage to destroy it completely, but together they did blow up approximately half of it and it did not glow anywhere near as strongly. Though it still flickered and shimmered with some reserves of power.

Sailor Moon quickly turned her scepter back into her tiara and put it on her head, intending to try to use her crystal's healing combined with Mars' specially prepared charms. But before she could do anything Emerald's voice shouted out above them. "MY BROTHERS! SAVE MY BROTHERS!"  
Looking up they saw Emerald floating overhead holding her pink comb in both hands, so anguished that she snapped it in two. Then the Droids materialized on the ground surrounding them on all sides. Marzipan was about to shoot some gooey cakes at them and Mistrust summoned up four clones of herself ready to charge. Regalia and Animal Instinct were also ready to use their own powers to help if the others needed back up. It didn't look good for the Scouts at all. Could Tuxedo Mask help them?

Just then who of all people should come running as fast as her little legs could carry her, but Rini herself. Everybody including the three Sailor Scouts were taken by surprise to see her approach so blatantly. But before any of them could say or do anything Rini shouted. "I CAN'T LET YOU HURT MY FRIENDS! THEY MUST SAVE MY DEAR MUMMY!"

Then she screamed, scrunching up her eyes and shaking her blue ball vigorously. Her forehead glowed with the crescent moon symbol, but it was different from all previous times. Blinding golden light emanated from her and to the horror of Doom, Gloom and the four Droids, they were dazzled by the brightly glaring light and lightly picked up where they lay or stood by it and thrown up into the air. Emerald gasped and propelled herself upwards one step ahead of her allies who were all crying out in shock and dismay. Mistrust's clones had vanished the minute she had been bombarded with the intense brightness. They all desperately managed to gain control over themselves and float right side up next to Emerald several feet above. Finally as they blinked and rubbed their eyes to clear the dazzlement from them, they all gasped as Rini's power destroyed what was left of the Dark Wedge and even the one on the other side of the school.  
"I never thought she could be so strong," exclaimed Regalia.

Emerald knew there was only one thing to do. "Everybody return to the future. Our mission's backfired once again."  
They all disappeared courtesy of their magic rings and Rini returned to normal. But Sailor Moon and her friends had been completely unharmed. Though they were amazed.

Before they could try to talk to Rini, Sailor Venus and Sailor Mercury came running up followed by a trio of police officers. Tuxedo Mask had already faded away into the background according to his skillful manner and one of the officers explained. "Sailor Moon. We met Sailors Mercury and Venus as they were leading the children out at the gate. We were coming to gently but firmly quell the riot the teachers had reported to us."  
A second officer took over. "But when we had been told that something sinister had made them all become so uncontrollable and that you were looking into it we knew that the best thing was to leave it in your hands."  
The last officer said, "When that weird statue blew up your allies said it was safe to enter. We left the children with the rest of us while we came to check on you." Noticing Rini he added, "There's one girl who mustn't have been able to escape. But you Scouts obviously saved her."  
"Er yes, that's right. We did," Sailor Moon quickly gained her bearings and Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter helped her answer as well as they possibly could what questions the police had.

Luna was watching from the nearby bushes. She was just as amazed herself. She hadn't even realized that Rini had stopped following the others until a few seconds after she'd left her side and when she ran back she'd been just in time to see the end of what Rini had suddenly done. "Artemis is going to be astounded when we discuss this turn of events with him," she thought.

After the police had finished talking with the Sailor Scouts they thanked them once more and told the children to all go home. "We will see you all to your houses and explain the situation to your parents and guardians."  
Even Rini consented to go with them, but she looked back over her shoulder and the look she gave the Scouts let them all know that she was determined to fight with them in their next battle.

When they were all alone Luna came out from the bushes and so did Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon couldn't help chiding him. "After all this time you still won't let the public know about you."  
He smiled behind his mask. "I'm too humble. The Sailor Scouts are welcome to hog the spotlight."  
Luna broke the silence with the very question that Sailor Moon herself wanted to ask the others. "How is it that you girls all came to be here? What will your teachers and classmates say?

Next minute some figures materialized in their midst. A tall man, a tall woman, a short woman with a baby in her arms and a handsome ghost with long flowing hair.  
Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and Luna were all surprised but not the other Scouts. "I summoned Jed, Tweetus, Dorothy and Jordan to help me bring your friends to help you Sailor Moon," said Nephlite.  
"That's right," said Sailor Mars. "Jed came to my school."  
"Tweetus came to my school," said Sailor Venus.  
"And Dorothy and Jordan came to our school with Nephlite," added Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter confirmed it.  
Dorothy smiled and said, "While I was using my Youma abilities to enchant Sailor Mercury's teacher and classmates Nephlite was holding Jordan psychically in his own hands so that Jordan could do the same thing in Sailor Jupiter's class."  
Tweetus proudly declared, "We all fixed things so that the Sailor Scouts' teachers and classmates all failed to consciously notice us informing them of what was going on here."  
"Precisely," agreed Sailor Venus. "We were all able to transform right in front of everybody and nobody's aware we've left. We'll be able to join them again now as if we were always present."

Luna and Sailor Moon thanked their friends Mask gave Nephlite and the Youma family a salute and a smile. But just then Sailor Moon groaned. "I'll still have to face Miss H's wrath for being not only late but absent from school for so long."  
Tuxedo Mask walked over and hugged her with a gentle admonishment. "You silly meatball head. You're always so hopeless, aren't you?" She looked up into his masked eyes.  
"Dear Tuxedo Mask. Can't you do something?"  
He shook his head. "Sorry honey. I'm powerless in this matter."  
The other girls sighed. "Oh Sailor Moon."

But Tweetus said, "Come with us Sailor Moon. After we return your friends to their teachers, we'll all combine our power so that your teacher and classmates will think you've been present all the time."  
Sailor Moon was deliriously overjoyed to hear this. "You'll really do this for me?"  
"None of us are perfect and it will be our pleasure to do an extra favour for you," smiled Jed and Dorothy and Jordan expressed unanimous agreement.  
Everybody, even Luna, was touched by the Youma's genorosity. Though Sailor Mars couldn't help thinking to herself, "Nobody's perfect, but that Serena doesn't even make any serious attempt to come close." She kept control over her indignation for once and said nothing out loud. She and the others all transformed back into their secret identities. Nephlite and Tuxedo Mask said their farewells and vanished in their respective styles and the four Youma all were good to their word. Luna went with them as they delivered first Raye and then Mina to their schools. Then between them they delivered the last three to their common school and nobody in Serena's class comprehended her long absence. Luna and the Youma quietly departed and Serena felt happy. It wasn't very often she was granted a reprieve from her own silliness and Miss Haruna smiled back at her when she saw her beaming, joyful face. Everybody was touched by the jolly atmosphere that day including Molly and Melvin.

Meanwhile back in Crystal Tokyo, Emerald materialized along with her brothers and all the Droids to report their failure yet again. "I'm so sorry my Prince. We failed." She bowed her head while the others all lamentably admitted how they had all been beaten.  
But Prince Diamond merely smiled and said, "Never mind you lot. I was watching your battle along with our mentors personally via Wiseman's crystal ball."

He was actually not perched upon his throne for once. He stood next to the squat, hooded form of the Wiseman while the similar creepy Grim Man hovered on his opposite side. He continued. "Wiseman told me he had an excellent idea to help us."  
All eyes were directed upon the Wiseman as he continued waving his spectral hands over his crystal while he spoke. "I saw the power displayed by the Small Lady when she used it to disperse all of you and destroy Sapphire's giant Dark Wedges. We can harness that power and use it to our advantage."  
"Exactly how can we do that Wiseman?" asked Regalia.  
"By capturing her and then the Grim Man and I can use our powers to turn her into an ally of the Black Moon Clan."  
Marzipan said, "That sounds very exciting."  
Mistrust added, "Yeah. But first of all we need to somehow capture her without her doing what she did to us all just now."

Emerald held up the fragments of her pink comb that she had snapped anguishedly in two at the plight of her dear brothers as she asked, "Do you have any idea how we can overcome her resistance?"  
Wiseman was still looking into his crystal ball as he replied. "There is no reason to worry Emerald. I have shown Prince Diamond a glimpse into the future. Very soon she will be coming back here to Crystal Tokyo herself with the Sailor Scouts."  
Everybody gasped in awe and Wiseman continued. "You don't need to fear this because when it happens she will soon separate herself from the others and while she is alone the Grim Man and I will make our move."  
The Grim Man finally spoke in turn. "Yes we will turn her over to your side and then she will help you destroy your enemies and make your revenge complete."

Prince Diamond said proudly, "Again we have our two saviours and guardians to be thankful for. They care deeply for us and desire to see our victory come to fruition. We will honour and revere them always for everything they have done."  
The clan all cheered and raised their hands in the air including Sapphire and Injector, in her human form. They had been standing off together in the far background when the others had returned.  
The eyes of the Wiseman and the Grim Man began to glow brightly red once more inside their shadowy hoods.


	22. Chapter 22

CHAPTER 22

Rini was very excited. Her dear friend Sailor Pluto had been talking to her through the communicator built into her ball. "Small Lady, I've been working hard to create a new magical means by which you can return to Crystal Tokyo and bring Sailor Moon and your other friends with you to help do something to free your world."  
"Oh my friend. Please tell me what it is!" Rini had lost the original Time Key she had been given. It had been destroyed in the explosion of the spacecraft that had killed Rubeus, Thunderclap and Hypnotica.  
Sailor Pluto explained. "I have crafted a time ring. As soon as you gather your friends together I will send it hurtling through time in your direction. It will be the size of an extremely large hula hoop and you will all have plenty of room to stand inside together. Then when you are ready to call out for it to transport you it will rise up into the air and take you to the future along with it as soon as it fully rises above your heads."  
"Oh thank you very much. I shall let them know at once."

Rini had quietly mentioned this to Serena and Luna inside Serena's bedroom privately. Serena had called the other girls and also Darien immediately.  
"We're all going to the future to do what we can to save Rini's mother."  
"Okay. Come to my apartment tomorrow morning," said Darien.  
Serena and her friends said they would be there around nine o'clock and Rini was feeling more and more joyful. "We're going to save my Mummy! We really are!"

Tomorrow was Saturday morning and so Serena and Rini went downstairs to tell their family that they were going to go and visit Darien that day. Ever since Darien and Serena had officially declared their romance to be on once again, Darien had been round for dinner at least three times. Even though Dad had initially been rather concerned about how much older Darien was, since Mum had vouched for him as a decent, trustworthy person, Dad had softened and come to get along very well with him.  
He smiled and said, "That will be all right. I hope you have a good time tomorrow. Give Darien my very best wishes."  
Mum was also happy and said to pass on her kindest regards also.

As for Sammy, he was very pleased that Serena in particular was going out on the first day of the weekend. "This means I'll be able to play her Sailor V video game in peace tomorrow," he thought, knowing that Mum and Dad had no objections even though Serena would always grumble and grouch quietly whenever he played her game. He would play to his heart's content with no annoying distractions.

So in the morning Serena and Rini said goodbye after breakfast and set off for Darien's apartment with Luna. Lita, Mina, Amy and Raye had let their respective families know what their plans for the start of the weekend were and they all met at the apartment building. Artemis had come with Mina and since pets were not allowed he and Luna climbed up the outside of the complex and in through Darien's open window.  
Darien said to the girls, "Let's transform ready for departure and they all transformed speaking as quietly as possible so that nobody in the other apartments would perchance overhear. The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask stood before Rini and Luna said, "Now Rini. Let Sailor Pluto know we are ready for the magic ring she told you about."

Rini spoke into her ball as the antennae popped out of it. "Sailor Pluto. We are ready. Please send what we all need to return to the future."  
Sailor Pluto's voice answered her. "I hear you dear Small Lady. Here it comes."  
Then a glowing circle appeared in the middle of the floor and when the brightness faded away there was a large, round ring with smaller rings of gold encircling it. Rini jumped eagerly into the center. "Let's go everybody!" She urged them all and they followed her.  
Sailor Venus, Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask all stood inside the circle with Rini. A perfect fit. There was even plenty of room for Luna and Artemis.

Rini did not wait for anybody to speak. She raised her ball over her head and declared, "We are all ready Sailor Pluto. Help me activate the magic in this ring so that I can return to the future and bring all my friends with me."  
In response the ring began slowly to rise into the air. Sailor Moon looked down at their feet and gasped. "We're disappearing as the ring levitates above us."  
"It's alright Sailor Moon," said Tuxedo Mask. "It's taking us into the future."  
As he said this Rini, Luna and Artemis were all gone and Sailor Moon gulped at beholding her body gone up to her chest and shoulders. The other Sailor Scouts were amazed as the ring rose over their heads. Only Tuxedo Mask was left and he gritted his teeth steeling his nerve as his head was passed over. When his top hat had vanished the ring glowed brightly once more and then disappeared in mid-air.

Before any of them knew it what happened next was that they found themselves floating through space facing a huge door. As they approached it slowly opened admitting them all inside where they were set down upon their feet in front of Sailor Pluto herself. "Welcome to you all," she smiled with her scythe in her hand. "Hello Small Lady."  
Rini ran towards her friend and hugged her legs. "Oh I've missed you so very much," she sobbed joyfully and Sailor Pluto ran her fingers gently through her hair.

Then she looked up and addressed the others. "Thank you Sailor Moon and the rest of you for everything you've done to help the Small Lady so far. She will take you with her to the castle where her mother is held prisoner. That is the direction."  
They all turned round to see where her finger was pointing and she bent down on one knee in front of Rini. "I'm so proud of you Small Lady. You no longer need this communication device. The Sailor Scouts will be your protection."  
She took the blue ball from Rini and throwing it up in the air it vanished.  
Rini looked into her face and smiled. "I understand and I'll continue to be brave. Come with me my friends."

So saying she ran in front of the group. "Follow me."  
They did but they all turned to look at Sailor Pluto. Sailor Mercury asked, "Sailor Pluto. Can't you come with us?"  
She shook her head. "I'm afraid not. I am honour bound by my promise to the King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo to guard this door of time from the invading enemy."  
"But they've still been finding ways to go into the past where we live," said Sailor Mars.  
"Yeah. So what's the point?" asked Sailor Venus.  
Sailor Pluto answered humbly. "I am still obliged to keep the door secure from the supreme forces that are behind the invaders. That is who invaded Small Lady's dreams back when I first introduced myself to you as a holographic image. He was not able to invade the real world of the past however. Only the realm of her dreaming."  
Artemis said, "So you mean that if that person or whatever he is ever passed through that door the world of Tokyo's past would be in danger?"  
Everybody gasped in dismay as Sailor Pluto confirmed. "Precisely. That is why I must stay here. Goodbye and good luck. All of you must protect Small Lady."  
"We will Sailor Pluto," promised Sailor Moon. "Thank you and good luck to you too."  
They all echoed Sailor Moon's sentiments and as they set off in the direction of the castle Sailor Pluto watched their backs and smiled before grimly gripping her scythe tightly in her hand.

Meanwhile inside the castle all the clan members were gathered at the summoning of the Wiseman and Grim Man. "The child has arrived and she has brought the Sailor Scouts and the Silver Crystal with her."  
The clan were all so very happy to hear this. Emerald cried out, "We have already finally defeated and captured the Sailor Scouts here in the future Wiseman. They no longer had any strength to put up any resistance to our power and they collapsed exhausted."  
Sapphire added, "Yes and they have been languishing in chains ever since along with the king. If we can destroy their past selves it would mean they'd be erased from existence."  
Doom then said, "And if Sailor Moon is really the past self of the Queen then she will fade into nothing where she lies in enchanted sleep once we destroy her."  
The Wiseman answered them all. "That is correct. The Grim Man and I can help you. We can capture the child and turn her over to our side."  
Emerald had lapsed back into her state of mind before their "mentors" had earlier announced this plan. "But why exactly should we want her? The daughter of the woman who killed our families? She's our enemy?"  
Sapphire was having doubts again too. "Why don't we just wipe them all out?"  
The Grim Man said, "She will become your most powerful weapon. What could be more fitting than to manipulate the Queen's own daughter into acting as our executioner?"

The Droids all began to cheer. "Yes! Yes! Our enemy will die at the hands of her own flesh and blood!"  
Prince Diamond said with a vague look in his eyes. "In a way it seems nefarious on our part. But I suppose our mentors can be trusted to know what is best." His eyes were glazed over as he slowly smiled and Emerald along with her brothers began to get enthusiastic also.

Only Sapphire wasn't convinced. He had decided to secretly experiment with the "protective" powers of the Dark Crystal Wedges he had been crafting for the others when they went out on missions and he was carrying not one, but two of them, on himself. They were concealed in his right and left trouser pockets. The Wiseman and the Grim Man did not suspect, but the power of the wedges Sapphire was currently testing upon himself had blocked all traces of their mind control over the clan members towards his person. He was getting suspicious although he pretended to also accept the proposed plan regarding Rini.  
To himself he thought, "What exactly are our guardians up to? I want to avenge my kinfolk certainly, but well. This sure seems weird. I must keep a close watch upon the Wiseman and Grim Man."

Getting back to Rini and the others, she was leading them along excitedly and joyfully. "Keep following me down this pathway and we'll get to where my Mummy is being held prisoner."  
"We will save your mother Rini," promised Tuxedo Mask.  
Sailor Venus said, "I hope we won't run into any traps on the way."  
"Well we'd better keep our eyes peeled just in case," said Sailor Jupiter.  
"Wait a minute. There's somebody standing in the far off background." Sailor Mercury cautioned and they all peered at the figure who seemed to be wearing a white dress of some kind.  
Rini gasped. "I think I know who it is!"

As they all cautiously approached the figure came into view. She had a dress on with a strange design that looked like angel wings protruding from her back.  
"Hey! She looks like me with the exact same hairstyle," cried Sailor Moon and Rini cried out in rapturous astonishment.  
"It's my Mummy!"  
Everybody gasped and stood still while Rini tentatively kept slowly walking. "Mummy? Is it really you?"

The figure smiled and opened her arms wide. "Yes it's me Small Lady. I'm so overjoyed to see you my dear daughter."  
Rini was beginning to run towards her when she suddenly pulled up to halt. "Wait a minute. There's something wrong. Who are you?"  
Sailor Moon and her friends all gasped as the figure answered.  
"I'm your Mummy, of course."  
"No you're not. You're an imposter."  
Tuxedo Mask said, "Are you sure Rini?"  
Rini turned around at the sound of his voice and ran back to throw her arms around his legs. "Positive Tuxedo Mask. My Mummy never calls me Small Lady. Only by my name at all times."  
Sailor Moon responded to this by pointing her finger and addressing the figure accusingly. "If you're not Rini's Mummy, then who are you? Tell me at once!"

"So you think you're very smart?" The figure began to shimmer and change shape. "You will remember our last encounter very well Sailor Moon."  
Luna, Artemis and Tuxedo Mask had never been present at the encounter in question, but they were still shocked to behold the figure's real form. Sailor Moon and her friends were even more horrified to behold a figure they believed to have been long destroyed. "It's the creep who was attacking Rini in her dreams!" exclaimed Sailor Mars.  
The Grim Man raised his scythe above his head. It was twice as large as Sailor Pluto's scythe. "That's correct Sailor Scouts. I'm not easily vanquished. Here I am in the real world of Crystal Tokyo and I shall destroy you all and take that brat back alive with me."  
"Tuxedo Mask! Protect Rini!" Sailor Moon shouted. "We won't let you succeed. In the Name of the Moon I defeated you once and I shall do so again."  
Her friends prepared to fight together.  
"We are the Sailor Scouts."  
"Champions of justice."  
"On behalf of our respective planets we will right wrongs and triumph over evil."  
"Alongside Sailor Moon."  
The Grim Man taunted them. "Hit me with your best shots if you can before I hit you."  
"Look out Scouts!" Luna shouted as the Grim Man raised back his arm ready to throw his weapon just like he did in Rini's dream realm.

The Scouts all prepared to jump aside while getting their attacks ready. However the Grim Man was bluffing them. The real plan was to capture Rini, convert her into their ally and have her destroy the Sailor Scouts personally.  
So with his other hand he suddenly stretched it out at them shooting magical energy that struck them and sent them flying backwards into the air with shocked and anguished shrieks.

Tuxedo Mask whispered to Rini. "Quickly help me distract him." He produced a slingshot from under his tuxedo and handed it to her. "You don't need ammunition. Just pull it back and fire towards that enemy. It's a piece of clever magic I've been working on in my spare time."  
Rini trusted Tuxedo Mask wholeheartedly. "Okay," she said taking it and getting ready to strike before the Grim Man realized what was about to happen. Artemis and Luna were watching with baited breath.  
As Rini pulled back on the empty slingshot she thought to herself about Tuxedo Mask's other identity. "Darien. I believe in you. I believe in myself. I believe in my friends."

As she released the weapon she thought of her dear friend Sailor Pluto and shouted out loud. "TRISTA! I BELIEVE IN YOUUUUUUU!"  
Before the Grim Man had time to react to her shout, as if it had come from the slingshot, a golden ball of bright energy struck him on the side of his head bursting forth illuminating his body and dazzling his eyesight.  
"What magic is this?" he roared and Tuxedo Mask cried out.  
"Well done Rini. Now Scouts. Combine your power and attack him while I hold him at bay."  
He leaped right up at the Grim Man brandishing his cane like a weapon. He used it to parry the scythe as he alternately ducked and weaved. He needed to keep his wits about him, for the Grim Man's blindness was very momentarily. Barely lasted ten seconds.

Sailor Moon gasped in panic pointing as they all clambered up off the ground. "My Tuxedo Mask may be killed any minute!"  
Sailor Mars cried, "Well pull yourself together Sailor Moon and join the rest of us to save him."  
"Yes. There's no time to lose," said Sailor Mercury and Sailor Moon snapped to her senses.  
"Okay. But what should we use? We thought we had destroyed him in Rini's dream."  
Sailor Venus said, "We must try something even stronger."  
Luna ran over and spoke quickly. "I have an idea. If you use your Sailor Planet Power and concentrate hard you can use it to generate a powerful destructive force to attack him with. So hold hands and work together."  
Rini and Artemis watched along with Luna as the five girls formed a circle and prepared themselves.  
"MARS PLANET POWER!"  
"MERCURY PLANET POWER!"  
"JUPITER PLANET POWER!"  
"VENUS PLANET POWER!"  
The locket around Sailor Moon's neck opened and the Imperium Silver Crystal inside glowed very brightly as she cried out, "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
Tuxedo Mask agilely dodged yet another deadly swing from the Grim Man's scythe and leaped away leaving the beast wide open as a target.  
"SAILOR PLANET POWER!"  
The Scouts conjured up various coloured bursts of energy and sent them flying straight toward the Grim Man.

As he was struck he was briefly illuminated brightly before fading away into nothing. However as he vanished he gave a triumphant laugh, though it was cut off after two seconds.  
Rini fell upon her knees gasping in relief and Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon both ran to embrace her together. "Rini. Are you all right?" cried Sailor Moon.

She looked up and smiled at the desperately concerned expression. "I'm fine Sailor Moon. Just so happy to be safe once more."  
Tuxedo Mask told her she was very brave and as the others all crowded round offering praiseful agreement, Rini began to feel a sense of pride. She laughed out loud for joy and Sailor Moon laughed with her.

Then Luna said, "Okay then everybody. Let's carry on with our journey. There's no time to waste."  
Rini said, "That's right. Follow me."  
They all proceeded along until they reached Crystal Tokyo. Rini pointed and said, "Behold. The Crystal Castle where my Mummy is being held in an enchanted sleep and I presume my Daddy is under restraint in the dungeons. I hope my other friends are all right."  
She meant of course the future selves of Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Mars. She had no knowledge that they had been overpowered and locked up with her father.

As they passed through the city she went on to explain. "All the subjects of my Mummy and Daddy's Kingdom are trapped inside their houses, unable to leave them by very strong magic."  
The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask all gasped to behold some frightened faces staring out their windows as they passed. The windows were all closed. They couldn't even open them if they'd tried. But the horrified expressions on the people including some terrified children made even Artemis and Luna shudder.

As they approached the castle Rini said, "I'm not sure what's going to happen now. But we must get inside. The people who've captured my Mummy and Daddy may probably be somewhere inside even if they are not expecting us."  
Sailor Moon said, "Oh dear."  
That was all she could bring herself to say and everybody was tense and on edge not knowing what would actually happen. They steeled themselves for action as soon as it was needed.


	23. Chapter 23

CHAPTER 23

The Sailor Scouts, Tuxedo Mask, Luna and Artemis were still slowly walking behind Rini step by step through the spooky streets of Crystal Tokyo. The enormous castle loomed fifteen feet ahead of them, but suddenly they pulled up short as five strange figures approached. They could not believe it.  
"Four of those figures look like us!" Sailor Venus gasped.  
She was right. Their eyes all bulged like they would shoot out of their sockets. Sailors Venus, Jupiter, Mars and Mercury were coming towards them. Two on the right and two on the left of the majestic tall figure in the middle.  
Sailor Moon cried out, "Th-they do look just like you girls. But the one in the middle looks like you Tuxedo Mask. Only without the top hat."  
Tuxedo Mask frowned behind his mask and Rini instinctively grabbed his hand for security.  
Artemis said, "Be careful. These could be more enemies. Like the one we encountered before."  
Luna added, "Get ready to defend yourselves."

The five figures stopped just a few feet and the Tuxedo Mask double spoke. "Welcome to 30th century Crystal Tokyo. Rini, it is I, your Daddy and these are your faithful friends and guardians."  
The four Sailor Scouts surrounding him waved and smiled at Rini and she let go of her Tuxedo Mask's hand and said, "D-daddy? My friends? Is it really you?"

Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon quickly grabbed her. As she protested Sailor Moon cried, "No Rini! Remember what happened when you thought you saw your mother?"  
Sailor Mars and Sailor Jupiter ran forward. "If you are secretly enemies, we will attack you."  
Sailor Mars took up her fighting stance and Sailor Jupiter did also adding, "We will not allow you to harm Rini."  
The second Sailor Venus said, "You cannot harm us, but neither could we harm you if we wanted to."  
Sailor Mars' double said, "These are not our physical bodies. We are astrally projecting our souls to talk to you."  
"Prove it!" demanded Sailor Mars.  
"If you don't believe it then go ahead and one of you try to attack us," said the other Sailor Mercury.

Sailor Mars prepared a charm to paralyze one of them. "I call upon the power of Mars. FIREBALLS CHARGE!"  
As she threw it at the nearest opponent to herself, Sailor Jupiter attacked from the opposite side with an enormous leaping kick thrusting her left leg out.

However she passed harmlessly through her target landing on her hands and one knee to her disbelief. As for Sailor Mars' charm to her amazement it also flew straight through the figure's face with no effect at all.  
The second Tuxedo Mask smiled and said, "You see what we mean?"  
Sailor Moon and her Tuxedo Mask were still holding Rini. He spoke up demandingly, "Who are you exactly?"  
"I am your future self and these are the future selves of you Sailor Scouts. We are all currently locked up in prison, but Sailor Pluto telepathically told us you were coming."  
The other Sailor Venus said, "She used her power to add to ours and helped us project our souls outside to greet you here and explain things to you."  
Rini was getting very squirmy struggling and finally breaking free of the restraining grip Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon had on her, though she did not run towards the disembodied figures. Instead she cried out, "Oh my Daddy!"  
Tuxedo Mask gasped, "If you're Rini's Daddy AND my future self..."  
He left the sentence unfinished and everybody gasped as the realization sunk in.  
Sailor Moon was flabbergasted. "Then I must be, oh dear me no."

Her mood changed and she dropped down onto her backside, buried her face in her hands and began to weep and wail. "Sailor Moon! What's the matter?" cried Sailor Mercury as she and her other friends all crowded around her in concern.  
Sailor Moon sobbed with tears in her eyes. "Rini's mother is my future self. She just has to be. Don't you realize what this means? She's my daughter in the future and back at the time when she first came to the past I was so angry I threatened to strangle her."  
"But no harm was done Sailor Moon," said Sailor Venus.  
Still Sailor Moon refused to be comforted. "What if I had strangled her? I would have murdered my own daughter and Darien's and disrupted the future time continuem."

But the future selves of the Sailor Scouts spoke kindly while smiling. "You wouldn't have done it Sailor Moon," said the future Mars.  
"The fact that you didn't is the proof that you could never do so," said the future Jupiter and Tuxedo Mask's future self agreed.  
"That's right. There is a psychic bond between you and Rini that enables you to subconciously realize you would never really want to harm her. No matter how angry you became."  
Rini suddenly ran over to Sailor Moon and threw her arms around her. "Please don't cry Mummy. I've already forgiven you and I know in my heart it's true what Daddy and my friends say. You were feeling angry but you'd never have done anything to me all the same. I love you."  
Sailor Moon stopped crying as she looked at Rini. Then she returned the hug and cried again. This time with tears of joy. "I love you too Rini."

Tuxedo Mask turned to address his future self. "I think we all deserve a full explanation of what is going on and why we have been brought here to the future."  
The other Scouts, the cats and even Sailor Moon herself turned their attention towards the ghost-like figures.  
The future Sailor Jupiter said, "Your majesty. You should have the honours. I think we will all agree."  
The other future Scouts nodded and he replied, "Certainly I will. I am the King of Crystal Tokyo. In fact I am recognized as the King of Earth with Crystal Tokyo as my home base. And my wife is the Queen."

Everybody gasped in awe as he continued. "The Earth fell victim to ecological disaster. A new ice age froze the entire planet placing all living things into suspended animation. We were all frozen in giant blocks of ice and we stayed that way for several centuries until a powerful wizard from the planet Pluto chose to intervene. He requested that Sailor Pluto herself spare some of her time to assist him in creating powerful magic to melt all the ice and awaken us all. Sailor Pluto told this to Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune and they agreed that it would be a noble thing for her to work with the wizard while the two of them carried on the search for their long lost leader Saturn. Together she and the wizard restored Earth to its former state of vibrant life and the wizard declared to everybody that Serena was the great legendary super-heroine Sailor Moon and he strongly urged that she be identified as the ruler of the planet. Everybody liked the idea so even though she was at first dismayed at getting her secret identity exposed she was persuaded by all the support she received to retire her Sailor Scout persona and become known as Neo-Queen Serenity after her original mother from the Moon Kingdom."

Sailor Moon interrupted the story exclaiming in wonderment, "My destiny is to be Queen of the Earth? And to think my teacher Miss Haruna has often said that I'll never be able to succeed in anything with the grades I get on my exams!"

The future Tuxedo Mask laughed and said, "You can be sure Miss Haruna was very proud of you when she woke up from her icy sleep. Or will be proud of you from your personal perspective. The same thing is to be said for your Earth parents and little brother Sammy. He was speechless with disbelief. But eventually he became used to it all."  
Sailor Moon smiled briefly but Tuxedo Mask brought her back to reality by asking, "Where are they now and what happened?"  
"And are Luna and I somewhere here in the future too?" asked Artemis.  
The King of Earth explained. "When Serena and I were finally married and crowned King and Queen, Sailor Pluto and the wizard helped us generate enough magic power to give you both a brand new existence. We had you changed into human beings. You too were married and you had a daughter named Diana. However after three months of gaining the trust of everybody the mysterious wizard began to show his true colours."

The King paused for somber effect before continuing. "He attempted to concoct the strongest possible magic to betray us. He came charging into our royal throne room where we were seated upon our thrones. Sailor Pluto had long departed to rejoin Sailor Uranus and Sailor Neptune, so he thought he could conjure up a strobe time warp hole and suck us down into it. He intended to rule the Earth himself in dictatorship."

With a gesture he indicated permission for the future Sailor Scouts to speak about their own part and they mutually selected Sailor Venus as their spokesman. She stepped forward to explain. "The wizard thought that without Sailor Pluto around, he would be strong enough to overcome the four of us and suck us away with the King and Queen. However he underestimated us and we whipped him good and destroyed his magic strobe stick, shutting up the portal because he could draw any of us inside. We chained him up in prison and contacted Sailor Pluto. When she heard about his crime, she came immediately to help us manage his trial. He was declared guilty and Sailor Pluto transported him to a far away asteroid in permanent banishment."

The King then said, "Thank you. I'll finish. As far as we know the wizard is still stuck on his place of confinement and for many years we lived in peace. Eventually our daughter the Princess Rini or Small Lady was born. But when she was not long six years old, we were invaded by a band of very powerful enemies, who wore black, upside-down crescent moons on their foreheads. They were immensely powerful and my poor Queen was sealed up in enchanted sleep while I was subdued and placed in the prison I am now. Our four loyal servants have put up a noble fight, but they are now locked up alongside me."

Sailor Moon gasped and cried out, "They must be the same enemies who have been invading us in the past. But they're not really evil. They believe that my future self and you others were all responsible for killing their beloved family members."  
The future Sailor Venus said, "If that is so then why did they not destroy us all at once? Why go to all the trouble of keeping her majesty merely sleeping and attack our past selves?"  
Sailor Moon answered, "We don't fully know the answer to that ourselves. But we do know that they all sincerely believe that we are all ruthless murderers. Do you suppose this evil wizard you mentioned could have something to do with the situation?"  
The King said, "Possibly Sailor Moon. In any case there must be someone or something orchestrating it all. As for concluding our story, Sailor Pluto graciously came back when she heard of our plight to send Princess Rini to the past to recover the Silver Imperium Crystal because it had mysteriously disappeared. That's why we were easily conquered. Without the added power of the Crystal our defences were no longer strong enough."

Rini herself bowed her head and trembled while Artemis said, "It's imperative that while we're here in the future we do whatever we can to help defeat our unknown enemy."  
The Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask all solemnly vowed to work together. "For the sake of our future world!"  
The King and his four guardians thanked them profusely. "We will be counting on you. We can't project our souls anymore. Our bodies grow weary. Good luck to you all. Rini, my daughter. I love you."  
"I-I love you too Daddy. And my dear friends." Rini was weeping as they faded away and Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon both hugged her warmly once more to comfort her.  
Luna then said, "Let's be on our way to the castle, but be on your guard. Who knows what we'll face there."  
Rini led the way hand in hand with Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask walked immediately right behind them.

Luna, Artemis and the other Scouts followed as Tuxedo Mask moved up next to Rini taking her opposite hand. They continued making their way towards the castle passing the rest of the silent, eerie houses. Some people were still looking out of their closed window panes with faces that were full of despair and Sailor Moon flinched as she saw what looked like her family from the past. Her mother and father were hugging each other and Sammy was in between them. He broke apart from their group hug and put his face almost up to the window pane. His parents followed. If they could have opened the window and called out, they would have been so excited to see the Sailor Scouts. Their eyes spoke of their hope though. If there was any chance the Scouts could save the world they now lived in they were going to cling to that sliver of hope.

Inside the castle Prince Diamond and the rest of the clan were gathered before the Grim Man. Emerald, Doom and Gloom stood before the prince's throne on the right, Sapphire on the left and the Droids, as was their custom, nearby in the far corner of the room.  
The Grim Man announced, "The Small Lady is bringing Sailor Moon and the others here to the castle. Emerald!"  
She jumped at the suddenness of being addressed by her name. "Er, yes Grim Man?"  
"The Wise Man would like to see you and your brothers privately in our personal chambers in twenty minutes. He wants to discuss a plan he has for capturing the Small Lady and destroying the Sailor Scouts with your help."  
Emerald smiled and winked at her brothers. "I see. We'll be there. Won't we brothers?"  
As she ran a brand new pink comb in place of the one she'd snapped through her hair, Doom and Gloom laughed and gave each other a high-five.  
"We three will all be honoured to have been chosen to assist our glorious mentors in bringing our enemies to their downfall."  
"Yes for sure."

Prince Diamond spoke praisefully about the Wiseman and Grim Man and all the Droids raised their right fists and cheered adding, "Hooray for our dear guardians and hooray for Emerald, Doom and Gloom!"  
Sapphire pretended to enthusiastically cheer as well, but the Crystal Wedges he was secretly pocketing were still keeping his mind clear so he could think. Even now he still trusted the Wiseman and Grim Man at heart, though he was baffled as to why it was so important that they should brainwash Rini and make her their ally. "What can the point be? And I also wonder why we've been keeping the Queen alive in suspended animation? I suppose there must be some valid reason to everything. We know that Neo-Queen Serenity killed our families and we were saved by our mentors. I just wish I knew what all this travelling back to the past was all about. Why couldn't we have just executed the Queen and her allies in the first place? They insist upon being so vague about it. None of the others seem to wonder at all."

He was completely bewildered as he quietly thought all these matters to himself. He determined to find out somehow without making a big show about it. "They must have a very good reason for our benefit. They probably want to surprise us. But I'm so curious. I'll try to quietly eavesdrop and satisfy my anxiety."


	24. Chapter 24

CHAPTER 24

As the group approached the big doors of the castle Sailor Jupiter exclaimed in awe, "So this is the castle of Crystal Tokyo? And the people from the Black Moon Clan are all inside with Sailor Moon's future self comatose somewhere?"  
Luna said, "Yes. But I've just been wondering. If this is really our future world, would not the power of the Silver Imperium Crystal have protected itself along with all our future selves in the first place?"  
Artemis said, "Say Luna. That is a very good point. What did happen to it anyway?"  
The Sailor Scouts all gasped with this thought while Rini suddenly grew uneasy and troubled. There had been something regarding the fact about the Crystal's future counterpart disappearing mysteriously. Something she had never admitted, not even to Sailor Pluto and she had long forgotten it, but there was suddenly a nagging feeling of a memory trying to rise from the back of her mind. Furthermore she sensed in her heart that it was a thing she would much rather keep forgetting.

Tuxedo Mask sensed her hackles rising and kneeling down in front of her, he enquired. "Rini? What's wrong? Can you tell us why the Crystal failed to prevent the enemy striking against your mother and everybody else?"  
She gasped with a start, then stammered, "N-no I'm sorry. I just c-c-can't."

Luna then said, "Well anyway. What we need to do for now is try to see if we can get inside. Try the front door, but be very careful. There could be a trap set."  
Sailor Jupiter stepped forward and reached for the door handles with both hands. Pulling hard she grunted. "They're unlocked. They're opening."  
Everybody peered inside as Sailor Jupiter heaved the entrance wide open revealing a deserted main hallway with several chambers and a huge stairway in the middle to the upper storey.  
Sailor Mars, Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus joined Sailor Jupiter. Sailor Mars turned her head to say, "Let the four of us go first in case there is an ambush."  
"Stay on your guard," cautioned Sailor Moon and so her friends entered.

It was eerily silent as the four of them walked inside close together back to back. They all stared around for several minutes with their hands raised prepared for a fight. Nothing happened however, so Sailor Jupiter said, "It looks like it's safe for the time being."  
Tuxedo Mask said, "Okay let's go then." He and Sailor Moon walked in next still holding Rini by her hands.  
Suddenly the room was filled by very strong winds that roared around in circular motions like cyclones. To the horror of Luna and Artemis, who had not yet entered, everybody was taken completely unaware and were swept off their feet. Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon both lost their grip on Rini's hands and fell to the ground like their friends. But Rini was not blown to the ground. Instead she was rather picked up and swirled around upwards screaming. "Sailor Moon! Tuxedo Mask! Help me! Somebody help me!"  
Then her screams were cut off as she disappeared like the flame of a candle being snuffed out and the winds vanished leaving her friends to climb to their feet in shock and confusion.

"Rini's been spirited away somewhere!" shouted Sailor Venus.  
"Oh no!" cried Tuxedo Mask quickly scuttling over to retrieve his hat, mask and cane from where they lay here and there.  
Sailor Moon was very perturbed. "No! No! Not dear Rini! My Rini!" As she began to wail Sailor Mars snapped angrily at her.  
"Stop bawling Meatball Head. We have to find Rini."  
"Have a heart Sailor Mars," sniffed Sailor Moon and her other friends began to stick up for her.  
"Back off Sailor Mars," said Sailor Jupiter.  
"Hey. Whining isn't going to help us save Rini," she protested and Sailor Moon began to cry once more.  
"B-but she's my DAUGHTER!"  
Sailor Mercury and Sailor Venus started to appeal and Tuxedo Mask, who by now had placed his hat and mask back in place began to scowl and cried out, "Hey! She's my daughter too."

In order to avert a pointless argument Luna and Artemis ran into the midst of them shouting to get their attention. "ENOUGH!" Luna yelled.  
"Everybody settle down," Artemis demanded and Luna went on to say this.  
"I'm sure Sailor Mars means well, although we should all understand how distressed Sailor Moon must be for Rini."  
She addressed Sailor Mars. "You really should try to be more thoughtful about the way you make your points."  
Sailor Mars did have her hot-headed faults at times but she had a kind and caring heart really. She bowed her head and blushed at Luna's mild rebuke and Artemis addressed the whole group.  
"She is right though that too much crying won't help us rescue Rini. We know why you're upset Sailor Moon but you need to pull yourself together and search for her with all of us."  
"Okay. I'm sorry Sailor Moon. Can we formulate a strategic plan together now?"  
Sailor Moon wiped her eyes, blew her nose and said, "Y-yes of course Sailor Mars."  
Tuxedo Mask said, "Very well. I suggest we form two groups to search the castle for Rini in opposite directions."

While they were sorting themselves out this way, Rini was finding herself in a very frightening situation in a small room with no windows or furniture. She was trembling with fright at the sight of the only person in the room other than herself. The Grim Man.  
"We meet once more Small Lady," he sneered at her with his weapon raised. "The door is locked even if you could get past me and your golden crescent beams wouldn't penetrate the magic in this room. Besides you can't even set it off no matter how scared you become."

It was true. The magic was so strong that Rini's crescent moon on her forehead was incapable of glowing bright in the least amount. She was indeed terrified. "Oh no! I'm hopelessly trapped!"  
The Grim Man laughed and said, "That's right. Resistance is futile. I am in charge of your destiny."  
Rini began to cry. "Stay away from me."  
But the Grim Man said, "No. I must probe your mind."

With that he swung his Grim Reaper's blade down at her and she screamed hysterically. But it didn't even touch her. He held it above her and she felt her mind pulse and throb as memories, guilty memories long forgotten started to creep to the surface.  
"I can see what your subconscious mind has been striving to forget. You were forbidden to touch the Silver Imperium Crystal. But you had the idea that if you just held it for a little while it's magic would help you in your aspirations to grow up to be a beautiful and wise woman, like your mother the Queen of Crystal Tokyo."  
Rini had her back to him and was groaning, clutching her head as if she had a headache. "Please stop this!"  
She could see everything clearly in her mind as the Grim Man described it. "You sneaked inside the chamber where the crystal was kept on a cushion under a glass covering so that its magic would hold back the worst of any forces that threatened to invade the earth while nobody was present. Carefully placing the cover on the floor you took the crystal in your hands."  
"NO! NO! NO!" screamed Rini.  
"Then before your startled eyes it began to glow brightly, before slowly disappearing into thin air. It was at this moment when the forces of the Black Moon Clan engineered by the Wiseman and myself were finally able to launch a full attack and place the king and the queen in their respective states of captivity. They tried to capture you too, but the four female warriors delivered you safely to the Guardian of the Door to Time before returning to fight back as hard as they could. When the clan found out you'd gone into the past to find the crystal we helped them create their own means of time travel to chase you."  
Rini sank to her knees howling miserably.  
"So in fact we owe it to you that we were able to take over this future world with such tremendous ease. All because you were naughty and disobedient regarding the crystal."

Rini tried to protest. "But it wasn't my fault. I didn't know that would happen."  
"You were jealous of your own mother's popularity with everybody. You really wanted to become as admired and respected as she. That's why you wanted to use some of the crystal's magic to see if it would enhance your already existing positive virtues. What do you suppose your friends and parents would say to that?"  
Rini began to see dreadful visions in her horrified mind. Her mother, the queen of Crystal Tokyo, appeared before her with a furious expression. "You little brat," she snarled. "You disobeyed my strictest instructions not to touch my Silver Crystal and now I'm trapped in an enchanted sleep. All because of your defiant jealousy!"  
Her father, the king, also appeared. "You brought all this upon our peaceful world, just to satisfy your own selfish ambitions."  
"But you must forgive me. I didn't do it on purpose," Rini begged sobbing but as the Grim Man continued to place images of more people accusing her including the four loyal guardian warriors, Luna and Artemis in their human forms and several others, she began to feel angry and resentful through his negative influence. The final straw was when her dearest friend Trista, Sailor Pluto herself appeared with pointed finger yelling, "It's all your fault you jealous, little shrimp! You disgusting piece of filth!"  
Rini could stand it no more and began to shake her fist and scream. "YOU TOO TRISTA? TRAITOR! I'M FAR MORE NOBLE THAN MY MOTHER AND ALL OF YOU PUT TOGETHER!"

Then she began to convulse as the visions faded. "Hey! What's happening to me?" she gasped.  
The Grim Man exclaimed triumphantly, "You are reaping the just rewards of your own jealousy. You will succumb to my power and serve the Wiseman and myself."  
Rini groaned and struggled in vain as a sudden change came over her body and she began to grow big.

Meanwhile Emerald and her brothers were keeping their appointed rendezvous with the Wiseman inside a deserted cottage just outside the Crystal Tokyo city. They had entered the building, that appeared to be deserted.  
"Wiseman. Where are you?" cried out Emerald.  
Her brother with the dark skin added, "We've come as you requested us."  
Before they could say or do anything else, the familiar shadowy hooded figure rose up out of the floor a few feet away facing them.  
"Wiseman!" exclaimed Emerald.  
"Welcome Emerald and your loyal brothers," he greeted them warmly. "Allow me to explain my plan for destroying the Sailor Scouts with your help."  
"We're all ears Wiseman," said Doom.

As the Wiseman waved his hands over his ever present crystal ball he spoke. "I am seeing a vision of the queen who will help us eliminate our enemies and also eventually marry Prince Diamond when he is later known as a King. She is tall, lovely with green hair and has two brothers who love her so very much."  
Emerald gasped. "Do you mean me?"  
Gloom exclaimed in awe, "Our sis?"  
"Married and ruling with our glorious leader Diamond?" added Doom barely able to contain his own excitement.

Emerald reached out her hands eagerly. "Oh Wiseman. How will I be able to accomplish this great task and gain the heart of Prince Diamond? He is so very handsome and now that I've heard this prophecy my heart is brimming over with eager affection for him as my future husband."  
The Wiseman waved his hands in the air and a small crown appeared and slowly floated over towards Emerald. She grabbed it out of the air and held it in her hands looking at it joyfully. "So this is my crown Wiseman?"  
"Yes Emerald," he replied. "Place it on your head and you will be filled with the power you need to destroy the Sailor Scouts in vengeance for the lives of all the people dearest to you. Then you and Diamond will be married and crowned King and Queen."  
"I'll do it. My precious brothers. When Diamond and I come to power I shall bestow honours upon you. You shall become a Duke Doom and you Gloom, an Earl."

Doom and Gloom were both very happy, but their happy feelings were very quickly dashed, for no sooner had Emerald set the crown upon her then she screamed and tried to take it off. "AAAAAARRRRGH! It's burning my brain! Spreading through the rest of my body! Such terrible pain and I can't get it off my head!"  
Doom and Gloom tried to remove it, but it was stuck fast in place. While Emerald continued to wail and moan on her feet, they turned towards the hooded figure they had so implicitly trusted.  
"Wiseman!"  
"What have you done to our sister?"  
"You'll never know." With these words the Wiseman raised his hands and Doom and Gloom were bathed in rays of bright white light. They screamed as they were enveloped in the blinding illumination and when it faded their bodies were revealed lying on the floor reduced to withered, mummified husks.

As for Emerald she began to change form. She turned into a large, scaly, green dragon with the crown still stuck to her head. She just barely fitted inside the room of the cottage and the Wiseman called out to her in command. "Dispose of these carcases."  
Obediently the dragon bent down and actually took the time to eat the corpses.  
Next the Wiseman said to it, "Go and track down the Sailor Scouts and kill them all."

Just as the dragon raised its wings and proceeded to burst out through the cottage roof, a figure who had been silently listening outside one of the windows quickly dematerialized. It was Sapphire. As soon as the commotion had ensued, he had risked glancing inside and was shocked at what he saw. The Wiseman had turned Emerald into a dragon and fed her own brothers to her after murdering them. It was sickening. He had almost vomited.  
But he controlled himself and fled the scene while the dragon smashed the cottage wide open, taking to the air on the wing in search of Sailor Moon and her friends at the castle.

It was at about the same time that Rini was being bewitched by the Grim Man and Luna and Artemis were preparing to divide the team into two search parties at Tuxedo Mask's recommendation, that the dragon arrived at the castle. Flying back and forth it let out a terrifying roar to announce its presence to those inside.  
"What's that?" cried Sailor Mercury.  
"It must be an attack of some kind," said Sailor Mars.

Just then the ghost-like forms of the four guardians appeared.  
"His majesty is too weak, but we just mustered up enough power between ourselves to come to your side once more," said the future Venus.  
"There is an enormous dragon bellowing outside like it's preparing to attack," said the future Mars.  
Everybody gasped but Sailor Moon was positively terrified. "A d-d-dragon? Oh no! Can we somehow return to the past?"  
Her friends all admonished her and Sailor Jupiter declared, "We can't run away from this fight. We need to liberate our future or else our past will only lead to our termination."  
The future Jupiter said, "But hold on. This is a very powerful monster. You need to upgrade your power."  
"How?" asked Sailor Mars.  
The future Mercury answered, "We will concentrate hard and psychically transfer some of our vastly improved Sailor Scout strength to you. Then when you go outside to fight say your planet's name followed by the word star and finally the word power."  
"Do I get an upgrade too?" asked Sailor Moon.  
The future Venus said, "Sorry but we can only share with our own personal self counterparts."  
"It's not fair. Can't you channel power from the Queen me's comatose body like a conduit?"  
Nobody was listening however. They were wasting no time and the Sailor Scouts felt the power of their future selves coursing through their bodies like electric currents. The four guardians barely had time to wish them good luck before they faded away and Artemis said, "Come on everybody. Let's go."  
Sailor Moon reluctantly followed them all, feeling scared and disgruntled.

Her friends all shouted out one by one as they burst through the door and into the open grounds. "MERCURY STAR POWER!"  
"MARS STAR POWER!"  
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"  
"VENUS STAR POWER!"  
They could feel the power emanating through them and even as the dragon swooped down breathing small spurts of flame and smoke they were ready to counterattack and hit supremely hard.  
"VENUS LOVE CHAIN ENCIRCLE!"  
"MARS CELESTIAL FIRE SURROUND!"  
The dragon twisted and jerked its body reacting in pain as the combined attack burned and slashed the underside of its belly. Dripping purple dragon blood down like rain it angrily swooped upon them with a burst of orange-red fire hanging out of its mouth, all set to incinerate them.  
Sailor Moon was cowering behind her friends to the detriment of Luna and Artemis.  
"Sailor Moon. Don't give in to your fear," cried Luna.

Sailor Jupiter stepped forward to take her turn. "JUPITER THUNDERCLAP ZAP!"  
Just as the dragon proceeded to shoot its fiery breath, Sailor Jupiter threw her electrical charge striking the fire and pushing it back into the beast's face.  
As it roared with the pain of further burning coupled with an electric shock, it made further jerkings and began to fall to the ground. Artemis shouted, "It's going to land on at least one of the houses! The people inside will be killed!"  
Sailor Jupiter summoned up her strongest possible attack. "JUPITER THUNDER CRASH!"  
The strength bestowed upon Jupiter by the future guardians struck the dragon lighting up the sky like a Christmas tree. It pushed the dragon back upwards tumbling over and over till it disappeared into the sky as a tiny speck.  
Sailor Moon began to turn all cocky. "Well done Sailor Jupiter. I knew you could do it."  
She proceeded to dance around in an over-zealous jig. "The monster's gone. The monster's gone."  
Before she knew it the dragon came zooming back down towards them, its mouth opened wide as if ready to devour them alive. Sailor Moon shrieked and stumbled backwards falling over her own feet.

Sailor Mercury finally had her turn and she wound up her attack with every bit of extra strength she had been granted. "MERCURY ICE STORM BLAST!"  
She hurled the biggest version of this attack she had ever done yet and the huge dragon was frozen in mid-air trapped in the icy wall of misty residue that had once temporarily encased Julie when she was still calling herself Frosty.

Tuxedo Mask, Artemis and Luna all shouted. "FINISH IT OFF SAILOR MOON!"  
Realizing she was no longer in immediate danger, Sailor Moon became cool and calm. Taking off her tiara, it became her Moon Scepter, which she waved around to generate her killing attack. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!"  
The dragon gave one final lingering animal-like wailing as it was struck. It was illuminated for ten seconds, then it crumbled to dust. However they all had a terrible shock.

"Emerald!" gasped Sailor Moon beholding a vision of her appearing where the great dragon had been up above them. Then it slowly faded away. "Oh no. She must have been enchanted," cried Sailor Moon. "Once again I have failed to redeem a clan member and also personally killed her like three of those previously."  
Sailor Moon was so upset and her friends were so shocked that they ran to her to offer consoling.  
"Don't blame yourself Sailor Moon."  
"None of us had any way of knowing."  
Even Sailor Mars refrained from calling her a whiny cry baby again and hugged her with the others letting her sob on their shoulders in turn.  
Tuxedo Mask, Luna and Artemis all stood aside with sombre facial expressions.

Meanwhile back at the cottage with the big hole still in its roof the Grim Man had rejoined the Wiseman. The Wiseman was peering into his crystal ball. "Unfortunately our plan did not succeed in destroying the Sailor Scouts. I see they are all still alive, but Emerald is now dead, as well as her brothers."  
The Grim Man replied, "It does not matter. Now that we have truly captured Small Lady, she will lead us to unstoppable victory. The Black Moon Clan are no longer required. Soon Diamond, Sapphire and the rest of the Droid Warriors will also be cast aside and killed."  
"Yes my powerful Master. My crystal ball shows me that Small Lady is now patiently waiting in the sealed room you left her until we are ready to employ her services. She will help me to unleash all your destructive forces upon Crystal Tokyo and the rest of the universe, and then my revenge for my banishment to that cold lonely asteroid where I made contact with you will be complete."

The Grim Man raised his reaper's hook and loudly proclaimed, "I shall shower you with abundant rewards faithful servant. I have waited millenia for a sorcerer so versed in the black arts to discover me in my spirit realm. Soon I will be supreme ruler of all who surrender to me after I destroy those who attempt to fight against me. Then I shall finally be known by my real name. Doom Phantom!"  
He and the Wiseman both laughed wickedly and loudly. The sound echoed up through the broken roof to the sky above so creepily ominous.


	25. Chapter 25

CHAPTER 25

While Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask and the others were all intently searching the castle trying to find Rini, Prince Diamond and his remaining faithful Droid Warriors had been concealing themselves via magic invisibility and doing nothing to attack them in obedience to the Wiseman and Grim Man's instructions. Now however, they had all gathered themselves at the cottage with the gaping hole in the roof by command. Even Sapphire came hiding his horror and disgust at what he'd secretly witnessed. He masked his feelings very well as the Wiseman said with mock solemnity.  
"I deeply regret to say that Emerald, Doom and Gloom were all very brave co-operating with our plan to attack and destroy the Sailor Scouts, but unfortunately it failed and the attempt sadly cost them their lives."

The Droids all gasped in shock and dismay and Prince Diamond groaned bowing his head and clenching his fists. "Three more of us are lost. Will any of us live to execute the murderers of our loved ones?"  
The Wiseman said, "Very tragic yes. But at least we now have the final piece in our favour."  
With these words the Grim Man materialized in the cottage along with a very tall elegant woman with long pink hair tied in plaits and carrying a parasol on her shoulders.  
"Grim Man! Who is this?" gasped Animal Instinct.  
The Grim Man spoke. "This is Small Lady, though as you can see she is no longer so small."

Everybody stared at the black upside-down crescent moon in the center of the woman's forehead. Prince Diamond was astonished. "Were you really the Small Lady? And that's the symbol of our family clan."  
The Droids were all open mouthed and silent to behold what they saw. They remembered how each of them had sported such a symbol on their foreheads until Sapphire had infused them with magical power from the Dark Moon gems attached to either their clothing or parts of their bodies changing them into Droids.  
The Wiseman said, "Small Lady is now on our side. Why don't you introduce yourself? Tell them your new name?"  
The figure who had been Rini smiled and said with a laugh, "Just call me Wicked Lady."

The Grim Man spoke once more. "Diamond. You and all the Droids must return to the past with me and Wicked Lady. She has great power. She will be able to defeat the Guardian of the Door to Time. She won't even want to fight back when she realizes who Wicked Lady is."  
The Wiseman added, "Yes. While I stay behind to manage the future with Sapphire's assistance, the Grim Man will finally be able to go to the past. Wicked Lady will show you all where to find the four sisters and two Droids who betrayed our cause. You will kill them and Grim Man will exert his mighty magic to finally ensure vengeance for the lives of your murdered relatives."  
Prince Diamond eagerly clenched his fists and said, "This is wonderful news. At last the sweet taste of revenge is finally within our reach."  
The Droids all applauded and cheered. "Revenge! Our glorious revenge!"

Sapphire grimly pretended to show enthusiasm but as Prince Diamond said to him, "The Droids and I will shortly be leaving with Wicked Lady and the Grim Man. I'm depending upon you to do a good job helping Wiseman keep things running smoothly here in the future," he had questions running through his mind. He knew that their mentors were not so trustworthy as they had all believed. He had seen how the Wiseman had deceived Emerald and her brothers, used them for their own purposes and then killed them. He did not know what had really happened to their families, but he had every reason to be suspicious.  
"You can count on me sir." As he said this to the Prince he determined to watch his back with the Wiseman.

So it was that Sailor Pluto looked up to see the Grim Man approaching leading his procession towards the Door to Time. She raised her scythe, brandishing it with gritted teeth. "You have some gall approaching me. I know the only way you can physically time travel is through the door and I won't let you. If the others try to help you," she paused understanding their innocency. "Well I shall give them a warning taste of my power."  
The Grim Man spoke sarcastically. "I don't need to fight you. My greatest ally will personally challenge you."  
As Wicked Lady stepped forward, Sailor Pluto's eyes widened in horror. That pink hair in that very hairstyle. How could it be?  
Wicked Lady spoke, "Hello Trista."  
"S-Small L-L-Lady?"  
"No more small and no more weak." She raised her parasol with it closed and it began to rotate just like a drill. "I will no longer allow you or anybody else to boss me around Trista."  
Sailor Pluto was shocked and she only just managed to dodge aside as Wicked Lady lunged ahead with the whirling parasol. It nearly impaled her through.

In momentary panic she turned and using her mental powers to unlock the door, she plunged herself straight inside. "Follow Wicked Lady and myself after the fleeing coward!" shouted the Grim Man and Prince Diamond and the Droids all charged with loud, war cries.  
Sailor Pluto was really being practical, not cowardly. She couldn't fight and risk harming the Small Lady, so she ducked into the hidden shadows of the time portals as the enemy all whooshed past. Then she doubled back and returned to the future and spoke telepathically to the King and the loyal guardians in their dungeon. "I will give you some of my strength to contact Sailor Moon and her friends for me. This is most urgent."

In no time at all Sailor Pluto's message had been delivered and Sailor Moon, Tuxedo Mask, Luna, Artemis and the other Scouts had ran as fast as they could back to the Door to Time. Immediately Sailor Pluto saw them through imploring them. "Please help to free Small Lady."  
Tuxedo Mask promised. "We will do our best," and the others unanimously agreed as they chased after their quarries all the way back to their past.

At that moment in the past the Grim Man was standing somewhere out in the neighbouring country with Wicked Lady and the clan members gathered around him. "Before Wicked Lady takes us to where the six traitors are concealing themselves, she and I need to set up a Dark Crystal here."  
Having said this he touched the ground with the tip of his reaper's blade and Wicked Lady held out her hands palms downwards. Mystical energy crackled from them both and a small black crystalline object appeared growing like a flower. "It looks small but it will slowly grow bigger and bigger and it will connect reception with the Wiseman's power in the future. Thus ensuring total victory over the enemy."  
Prince Diamond was very impressed. "Good work Grim Man. Now can we go and kill those traitors?"  
The other Droids were thirsty for blood convinced that the four sisters, Rebecca and Julie merited death for their treachery.  
Wicked Lady said, "Yes. I know they've been hiding out at the Cherry Hill Temple."  
"Lead us to them," cried Prince Diamond and the Droids roared in frenzied excitement.

Meanwhile as Sailor Moon and her friends materialized back inside Darien's apartment from which they had all travelled into the future with Rini, they were all greatly surprised to find Nephlite waiting for them.  
"Nephlite! What are you doing here?" cried Sailor Moon.  
"This is urgent everybody," said Nephlite. "Even though my spirit is bound by my vow to stay nearby in this city to protect Molly, I have recently sensed that more of those mysterious people have come from the future to attack the Cherry Hill Temple."  
Everybody gasped and Sailor Mars cried, "Oh no! Our friends!"  
Sailor Mars had done an excellent job of hiding the refugees enchanting Grandfather and Chad so they wouldn't realize they were staying with them. But if Rini revealed their hiding place it would all be over.

"Don't worry," said Nephlite. "I enlisted the help of Jed and his family and they have transported your friends safely to their house. But you must quickly come before they destroy your Temple in their rage."  
They all needed no second bidding. As they ran they realized that only half an hour at most had passed while they were visiting the future.

At the Cherry Hill Temple the Black Moon Clan had chased away the small handful of visitors who had fled in panicked frenzy. Grandfather and Chad had attempted to fight back with staffs in their hands. But Marzipan had taken control of the situation and bombarded them with jelly, custard, pies and other sweets. Chad yelled in surprise and disbelief as he stumbled and slipped on the squelchy goo. Grandfather bravely tried to stay on his feet and do karate kicks, but he was blinded by icing in his eyes and he fell over in the slippery mess as well.

Regalia then produced half a ring each big enough to dig into the ground and pin Grandfather and Chad flat onto their backs. Chad struggled crying, "Release me! Release me!"  
Grandfather was very furious. "If I break free you'll all feel my wrath!"  
"Now now old man," said Prince Diamond. "We really mean you no harm. We have reason to believe some criminals have taken up shelter on your property. Can you reveal them to us please?"  
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Chad wailed.  
"Quit these silly games or I swear you'll pay!" grunted Grandfather.  
"It's all right. Perhaps they used magic to hide from you," Prince Diamond smiled. "Droids! Search the place in every corner!"  
"Yes Prince Diamond." They all entered the Temple to check every room and possible hidey-hole. At the moment Wicked Lady and the Grim Man were nowhere to be seen.

Just then the Sailor Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and the cats came running up. Sailor Moon called out to Prince Diamond, who had his back to them. "Hey you! Give us your full attention!"  
But even as Prince Diamond turned around to face them all in surprise, something appeared a few feet in front of him. It looked like a miniature black cyclone as it spun rapidly around.  
"What's that?" Sailor Moon gasped but even as she spoke it began to dissipate revealing Wicked Lady brandishing her parasol.  
She sneered at them. "You wimps have finally met your match in me."  
"Oh no! That's what we were told Rini looks like now!" cried Sailor Jupiter.  
"I used to be Rini. Now I'm Wicked Lady."

Before anybody could say anything else, the Droids all came running back outside. Animal Instinct shouted, "We can't find anybody. There's no trace of them."  
They all pulled up short upon seeing the Sailor Scouts. Marzipan pointed and yelled. "They must have moved them!"  
Regalia added, "Make them reveal the location to us!"  
Wicked Lady snapped her parasol open and twirling it around summoned up gyrating swirls of mystic power. As it struck Sailor Moon and her friends with immense force, they were all knocked off their feet. "WHERE HAVE YOU HIDDEN THE TRAITORS?"  
Sailor Venus groaned. "What strong power."  
Sailor Moon also groaned attempting to pick herself up off the ground. "Where's that Nephlite? Why isn't he helping us this time?"

But at that moment the figure of the Grim Man appeared up above in the sky. "Wicked Lady!" He called out. "Prince Diamond and all the rest of you! I have received an urgent message from the Wiseman in the future. It's about Sapphire."  
Prince Diamond was immediately all ears. Any news regarding Sapphire concerned him most of all for very personal reasons. "Sapphire!? What is it Grim Man? Is he okay?"  
"I must speak with all of you together, so let's transport ourselves to our rendezvous point by the crystal. Never mind our enemies for now. We'll get them later. Follow me."  
With this he disappeared and Wicked Lady obediently disappeared at once.  
Prince Diamond took charge. "All right you Droids. You heard our mentor. Let's join him." They all dematerialized with their prince. They were very curious and also silently humble. They knew perfectly well why Sapphire was so very important to Diamond and Sailor Moon and her friends all slowly climbed to their feet.

Just then Nephlite appeared and Sailor Moon accosted him grumpily. "Why didn't you help us?"  
"I am sorry," he spoke apologetically, "but this time I was faced with an enemy far too powerful even for myself. I could sense that that dark hooded figure with the reaper sheath in its hand was hiding invisibly. If I had tried to interfere I would have been struck down."  
"But you're already dead?" Sailor Jupiter exclaimed this in amazement.  
Nephlite went on to explain further. "Ghost I may be, but I know that figure could banish me eternally to another dimension in the blink of an eye. I admit I was worried and I sincerely hoped you could get the upper hand somehow."  
Sailor Mercury said, "But if this is the case then what chance do we possibly have?"  
Sailor Moon was very upset. "This is the worst situation we've ever been in."  
Luna said, "Sailor Scouts. You must all fight as hard as you can together. You must somehow free Rini from the spell she's been placed under. If you can do that, then maybe she can help us."  
A voice called out, "Hey! Do you think maybe you could set us free for the present?" It was Grandfather and Chad added in eager agreement.  
"Yeah. It's very uncomfortable pinned by these half rings to the ground among all these sweets and cake residue."

And so Sailor Mars used her charms to weaken the rings and Sailor Jupiter used her great strength to snap them and pull the halves out of the ground. The others including Tuxedo Mask helped Grandfather and Chad get to their feet. Luna and Artemis were shocked. They had all honestly failed to notice the presence of those two stuck people, but fortunately from their position they had failed to realize that one of the cats had been talking. Nephlite's spirit had also vanished before they could take the time to register him too.  
Sailor Moon and her friends were all very worried about Rini. How could they save her and how could they defeat the Grim Man after he had survived destruction on two previous occasions?


	26. Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

That evening after their encounter with Wicked Lady and Grim Man at the Cherry Hill Temple, Amy, Raye, Lita and Mina were all at Serena's house watching the news with her and her father. Luna and Artemis were curled up on a sofa in between Lita and Amy innocently watching too while pretending to be just ordinary cats.

The Newsreader spoke, "Reports have come in about a huge crystal quartz structure apparently growing somewhere in the countryside just outside our city. Witnesses driving along the country road noticed it as soon as it became as tall as the nearby trees. Some cautiously approached it but when they were only a few feet away it began to spark and flash with electrical energy and they ran away fearful of serious injury. The police have no idea what it is, but it seems to be slowly getting bigger and bigger. The Chief of Police has given this official statement."

Then the camera changed to a recorded video of the Chief. He said with solemnity, "Due to past attacks against our city from mysterious forces, we warn all citizens to stay away and not panic. I have faith that our friendly Sailor Scouts will soon be investigating this and if it is a threat they will save us."  
Dad remarked, "I hope so too. Thank goodness we have those Sailor girls to protect us."  
None of them could say anything in his presence, but they expressed mutual agreement. Though they were very worried because this was their toughest situation yet and Nephlite had made it clear that he could no longer safely aid them.

Just then Mum came in with a tray full of teacups. "Here's a cup of tea for everybody."  
They each took their cup expressing thanks including Dad. But then he said, "My dear wife. You seem to have brought out an extra cup."  
Everybody stared wide eyed as Mum gasped and looked at the cup of tea sitting by itself on the tray. "Why so I have. That's strange. I don't know why but I have a funny feeling that I needed to prepare this cup of tea. But why should I prepare it for nobody?"  
Dad said, "That's weird all right. But what's weirder is that I myself think that this cup should rightfully belong to somebody. But I can't imagine who."  
Mum said in confusion. "Well I guess I'd better take it out then."  
Dad stood up. "I'll go out to the kitchen with you and drink my cup with you sweetheart."  
"Okay honey. I suppose I'll drink it. There's nobody else to really have it. Though." She left the sentence unelaborated upon as Dad followed her out leaving the girls behind with the television.

"That's odd," said Luna. "On a previous time when Rini terminated her magical connection with Serena's family they lost all their memories of her until she re-cast the spell."  
Lita said, "Do you suppose it's because she never officially broke the spell before we left on our trip to the future with her?"  
Amy said, "Yes I bet it is precisely that. And since she was brainwashed and transformed by that Grim Man, they have as good as lost their memories again, but the spell still retains some small part of their memory subconsciously."  
"That sounds like a very plausible theory to me," said Artemis.

At this point Serena started to cry thinking about what Rini had become. "I never thought until today that I could really miss her so much. The house seems so empty without little Rini running all around the place."  
Raye surprised Serena and everybody else by getting out of her chair and going over to hug her tenderly. Looking Serena in the face she smiled and said, "Stay positive Serena. Granted this is our most difficult situation, but don't dwell upon the obstacles. Somehow we will find a way to overcome and get Rini back."

This was a magnanimous gesture for Raye and everybody smiled. They all kept reverently silent but they were all proudly grateful to Raye for being so kind and comforting. Serena hugged her back with happy tears and said, "Thank you Raye."

Elsewhere the four sisters and Birdy's two dear friends were all safely at the home of Jed, Tweetus, Dorothy and Jordan. They had everything they needed. Dorothy had gone out to buy extra groceries. Rebecca said to Tweetus, "We can never thank you enough. We'd all probably be dead by now if it weren't for you."  
"It's our pleasure. Any friends of the Sailor Scouts are our friends too," Tweetus replied with a smile.  
Avery, Catzi and Julie were all seated in the living room watching little Jordan playfully run around laughing and waving joyfully at them excitedly.  
Birdy was in the kitchen helping Dorothy make cups of tea for everybody and Prizma was upstairs with Jed near the upper floor balcony. "We must not risk letting any of you be seen at the windows," he was cautioning her. "But here at least you can see a view of the surrounding neighbourhood from above. As long as you don't actually set foot on the balcony itself."  
Prizma thanked him and gazed out shuddering slightly at the sight of the Dark Crystal growing so gigantic in the far off distance. But then glancing down she gasped at the sight of a familiar looking figure, obviously injured staggering along the street ignoring and shrugging off anybody who tried to ask if he was all right. As he turned aside to enter Mr. Baxter's park she said, "S-Sapphire?"  
"What is the matter?" Jed asked her.

Sapphire was holding the very ball that Sailor Pluto had previously given to Rini. He leant up against a tree hugging it close to his chest. As his legs gave way and he slid down the tree trunk sitting on the ground he recalled the scenes he had had revealed to him. He saw how the families of Rubeus, the four sisters and their friends had all intimately known each other. One day they had all gone out on a picnic together. The mothers and fathers sent the children to play while they prepared the blanket and the food in the picnic baskets. Tamara and Connie had always been tomboys. That is why they chose to kick a football around with their best buddy Rubeus. As for the others, Birdy and her dear friends Julie and Rebecca joined her sisters in playing with jumpropes and smelling the beautiful flowers and playing hide and seek among the trees and bushes.  
Suddenly they all heard their loved ones scream and running they were horrified to find them all lying sprawled dead on the ground. The Wiseman and the Grim Man materialized. "Trust us children," they cried. "We will take you to safety before the evil ones who killed your parents come back."

They believed them not simply due to their shock and grief alone. The deep dark magic they exerted made them seem angelic to their eyes. So they dematerialized with the two figures. Later he saw how Emerald, Doom and Gloom had their parents killed while they all slept at night. The two sinister figures woke them up to tell them they must escape with their protection or be killed. Unfortunately they were not in time to save their parents. Then all the other Droids were deceived into believing their families were killed. In reality though they were already orphans in an orphanage for girls. Wiseman and Grim Man killed the staff and all the children except for a randomly selected few. Finally Sapphire and his big brother Diamond lost their parents.

Sapphire could see in his memory Wiseman and Grim Man saying to him, his brother and all the others, "Your parents and all your other family members were betrayed and murdered by your world's own king and queen. Diamond, we hereby appoint you Prince and Ruler of the Black Moon Clan. Here on this lonely asteroid the two of us will train you all and raise you to adulthood so you can avenge your loved ones some day."  
"Thank you dear saviours and guardians," said Prince Diamond. "Praise be to our mentors. And one day we will bring that evil king and queen to justice."  
Everybody else, including Sapphire, had cheered and pledged devotion to Wiseman and Grim Man. But the present Sapphire began to tremble and groan with his eyes shut. "No Diamond. We have all been manipulated. The Wiseman and Grim Man will destroy you. Just like they destroyed our mothers and fathers and have been responsible for the deaths of almost all of us." Then with a groan he slumped down unconscious. The blue ball remarkably hovering beside him inches off the ground when it slipped from his grasp.

Suddenly he woke up to find himself in a bed with clean, white sheets and pillows. He looked around the room to see three other empty beds and a woman with long black hair staring at him in concern. "Are you all right?"  
"Who are you and where am I?"  
Before she could answer his question another woman's voice said, "She is our friend Tweetus. She and her husband Jed went to make sure you were all right at my request."

Turning to the open door he saw a figure he knew very well entering with a bowl of soup. "Prizma! It's you!"  
She set the bowl down on the nearby table. "This is the room I share now with my sisters. Julie and Rebecca have two beds made up in another spare room."  
"Prizma. I must talk to you." He started to rise then winced in pain.  
"Take it easy." Tweetus urged him. "You were very badly hurt. Dorothy patched you up to the best of her first-aid abilities.  
Sapphire noticed the bandages all over him, including one wrapped around his head. "Where's the ball? She helped me escape. She will help me explain."  
"I have it." It was Catzi who had spoken and she entered the room with the ball in her hand. Avery, Birdy, Rebecca and Julie entered behind her.  
Catzi handed it to Sapphire. "She has already spoken to us through it. We know who she is, but she wants to tell the full story with you present."  
Sapphire took the ball in his hands and Sailor Pluto appeared in a hologram in the air above the bed.

"All of you listen carefully to me. The fate of the universe is at stake." All mouths were grimly shut tight as Sailor Pluto spoke on.  
"In the future Sapphire here had been covertly spying upon the Wiseman. He overheard him communicating with the Grim Man through his crystal ball. He heard them discuss their final plans to subjugate Crystal Tokyo by destroying the Sailor Scouts in the past and eventually bring the whole known universe under the power of the Doom Phantom. The Doom Phantom is the Grim Man's true identity. The Wiseman is in a pact with him to help each other win their goals. The Doom Phantom will become supreme master and in return the Wiseman will be revenged upon those who banished him for his crimes. He heard the Doom Phantom say that he will kill Prince Diamond and the remaining Droids as soon as they have tracked down and killed the six of you and then Wicked Lady will be infused with massive dark power from the huge crystal outside town and she will kill the Sailor Scouts here in the past, thus eradicating their future selves."

Everybody covered their mouths to stifle their horrified gasps and Sailor Pluto invited Sapphire to take over. "As soon as I heard that I realized that I was going to be killed too. So I fled the castle and ran through the city to reach the Door to Time. But the Wiseman was looking to execute me then after talking to his ally. So he chased and intercepted me just as I was leaving the city. He said, "Where are you going in such a hurry Sapphire?" I admit I was scared but I looked at him and defiantly replied that I now knew that he was working for the Doom Phantom and had been deceiving all of us. He immediately attempted to destroy me by sending a blast of energy from his crystal ball. I could feel my life force being sucked away, just like he had done to poor Doom and Gloom. But I was determined to fight and concentrating hard, I managed to teleport myself far away before becoming a dried-up corpse."

Looking towards Sailor Pluto's image silently she was prompted to finish the story. "Sapphire was badly injured, but he staggered as fast as he could till he reached the Door to Time. When he saw me he raised his hands shouting out that he came in peace. After his explanations I gave him this communication device and allowed him to pass through time back to the past wishing him good luck and saying that I would help him as best I could. You must tell the Sailor Scouts as soon as possible. They will help your efforts to convince Prince Diamond and the others of the truth."  
Tweetus said, "We will call them at once Sailor Pluto. We will do whatever we can to oppose the Doom Phantom."  
"Call me anytime you need to discuss anything," said Sailor Pluto as her image disappeared back inside the ball.  
Sapphire looked up at Prizma smiling and asked, "Could you all leave me alone except for Prizma please?"  
Prizma blushed but her sisters and Birdy's two friends all smiled and winked at each other. "Yes we should leave you two alone for awhile," said Avery.

"See you later Priz," said Catzi as they all walked out along with Tweetus shutting the door.  
Prizma sat down next to Sapphire and smiled back at him. They reached out and took each other's hand. There had been a time when they were very young as children living on the Wiseman's lonely barren asteroid that they had felt mutually attracted to each other. Then as they grew older Sapphire had slowly begun to grow cold and hard towards her. She had been rather hurt and confused by this and it had made her crotchety and bad tempered. But now they both realized that had been the negative influence instigated by the Wiseman's magic. He had been subtly sowing seeds of discord among certain members of the clan and he and the Doom Phantom had thrived on the energy of anger and resentment to consolidate and strengthen their power. Now they knew in their hearts that they had always dearly loved each other.

At that moment Prince Diamond and the Droids were all gathered by the Dark Crystal hearing something that they couldn't believe. "What? My brother Sapphire has fled here to the past to join the traitors we seek? Are you serious Grim Man?"  
The Doom Phantom put a fake sympathetic inflection into his voice. "I know it sounds hard to comprehend your highness. But the Wiseman tells me that he deserted his post and fled to the powerful guardian of the Door to Time. Before he could do anything she had sent him on his way."  
"But why would Sapphire do such a thing?" exclaimed Regalia.  
"He personally assisted with our Droid conversion," added Marzipan.  
"And he's my only sibling!" Prince Diamond actually looked ready to cry but Wicked Lady was standing next to the Doom Phantom with a stony neutral expression.  
"I pledge my allegiance in tracking him down and punishing him with the others Grim Man."  
"We must search for all of them. Wicked Lady will help us." The Doom Phantom did not need to exercise any mind control on the clan members at this stage. They fully believed and trusted their "mentors" and were convinced of the guilt of the ex-members they sought. The Doom Phantom knew he would need to keep close watch on them though when it came to Sapphire. Especially the Prince. He was troubled in his mind and thought over and over to himself. "But why Sapphire? Why would you turn against me? I can't understand it."

Getting back to Prizma and Sapphire, they had been having a very intimate chat while she helped him eat his soup. She filled him in on all the details. How Sailor Mars, otherwise known as Raye, had been keeping all of them safely hidden at the Cherry Hill Temple since setting them free of the brainwashing and how deeply they still mourned the deaths of Rubeus and the Droids who had been part of their team, including his two dearest friends. "They never knew the truth Sapphire. It was a terrible tragedy, their dying. Catzi was the most heartbroken of all."  
"Emerald and her brothers have been killed also Prizma. They were tricked into losing their lives by the Wiseman."  
Prizma gasped in horror and tears began to well up in her eyes. Sapphire went on.  
"And now that we know who the Grim Man really is and how he helped the Wiseman murder our families for their sinister purpose."  
He clenched his jaw determinedly and started to get out of bed. "Prizma! I must go to my brother and the others who still live."  
She restrained him by gently hugging him and staring into his eyes with a tearful expression. "No Sapphire. You are injured and in any case they would probably kill you on sight."  
He held her shoulders and smiled. "But Prizma. Diamond is my only brother and I have to try to help him, just as you would try to help any of your sisters."  
Prizma stared up at him sobbing as he went on to say, "And what about the rest of our friends? Elizabeth, Amanda, Daisy, Carmen and Angela as we knew them before they became Droids? Wouldn't you be concerned about them too?"  
Prizma sniffed. "O-of course Sapphire. But I love you. You'll almost certainly die in the attempt."  
As she began crying on his shoulder Sapphire admitted to himself that she spoke the truth. "I love you too Prizma. Yet what other choice do I have?"  
Prizma wiped her eyes and blew her nose on a handkerchief. "Please let me just talk to Jed and Tweetus and see what they say."

A few minutes later Jed was on the phone to the Cherry Hill Temple asking for Raye. Chad answered and as soon as he replied, "Raye's not here. She's spending today with her friends," Jed knew exactly who these friends were.  
"That's all right. I know where she might be. Goodbye."  
He hung up and dialled Serena's number first. "Hi Jed," said Serena with a cheery smile.  
"Hello Serena. Can I urgently speak to Raye please?"  
Next moment Raye had taken the receiver and was listening to what Jed had to say to her. "Okay Jed. We will all meet you and Tweetus at the Temple while Dorothy and Jordan stay with our friends. I'm sure between my priestess magical arts and your extra-terrestrial powers we can conjure up what will be most helpful to the current problem."

So the girls all explained to Serena's parents that they were all going to Raye's home and they said it would be okay providing the others phoned their own respective parents and they did not stay out too late. Amy, Lita and Mina quickly did so promising their parents to be home faithfully no later then nine o'clock. Luna and Artemis casually followed them to the Cherry Hill Temple where Jed and Tweetus had materialized inside the room housing the Sacred Fire and were invisibly hanging around awaiting the Scouts. When they all privately met the two aliens explained what their plan was and Raye concentrated hard upon the Sacred Fire channeling both their energy and her energy to seek to carry out their purpose.

Later that day Sapphire was walking through the city limping in pain. He was wearing his clothes except for his jacket which he had left behind at the Youma family's home in Prizma's care. His bandages were underneath his clothing but the one wrapped around his head was clearly visible. He was staring at the huge crystal in the direction he was taking.

Suddenly Wicked Lady, Prince Diamond and the Droids all appeared floating in the air above him. Wicked Lady shouted, "Thank you for making it so easy to find you!"  
Looking up he cried out, "Wicked Lady. Stand aside. I wish to speak to my brother and our mutual friends."  
Wicked Lady however was preparing to attack with her parasol. "They're not interested in anything you have to say you traitor."  
But Prince Diamond seized her arm to restrain her. "Wait a minute. He is my brother and I do want to give him a chance to explain himself."  
The Droids were all emboldened by their prince's own boldness. "Yes," they agreed. "We will hear his defence before we take any action against him."  
Wicked Lady was about to protest, but then she could hear the voices of both the Wiseman and the Doom Phantom inside her head.  
"Do not attack them Wicked Lady."  
"Let them have their way for now. We will handle the situation ourselves."

Diamond and the Droids thought nothing at all suspicious as Wicked Lady relaxed and moved away from their group hovering to one side while they all stared down at Sapphire on the ground. Prince Diamond folded his arms. "Well brother. Speak your piece. Why did you desert the Wiseman and come here to the past?"  
"Diamond," implored Sapphire. "We have been manipulated by our so-called mentors. They murdered our loved ones and made us think the rulers of Crystal Tokyo did it."  
Animal Instinct cried, "That's a very strong accusation Sapphire." The Droids were all bug-eyed upon hearing this and Prince Diamond gasped.  
"Sapphire you must be mistaken. The Wiseman and Grim Man have been very good to us."  
"Diamond you don't realize. We were used and discarded when we were no longer needed. And how about some of our objectives when Emerald and her brothers took over from Rubeus? We never wanted to hurt any of the people here in the past. But our mentors began persuading us to feel justified in causing some pain occasionally. Those charm bracelets, the flu epidemic and savage threatening animals."  
Regalia, Injector and Animal Instinct all flinched upon being reminded of how much they had hated doing what they were told they had to. Marzipan, Mistrust and even Diamond were also feeling perturbed. Could there be any truth in what Sapphire said?

Suddenly Sapphire looked up above and gasped in horror. "It's Wiseman!"  
Diamond and the Droids turned around just in time to see the Wiseman standing in the midst of a temporary time portal that allowed his holographic image to appear in the sky above them. For once he didn't have his crystal ball and he emitted a powerful blast of destructive energy from his spectral hands that surrounded Sapphire and made him scream as it illuminated him. Sinking to his knees as it faded the clan members tried to protest. "Wiseman wait a minute!" shouted Diamond.  
"Give him a chance to speak," cried Animal Instinct.

But as the Doom Phantom appeared next to Wiseman's image they both began to speak.  
"Sapphire has betrayed you and you know what we do to traitors."  
"Even if he is your brother."  
Their eyes glowed red and Diamond and the Droids all began to struggle within themselves. "He is a traitor."  
"But what if?"  
"He should die."  
"Yet?"

Nearby in the shadows the Sailor Scouts were in observance along with Tuxedo Mask. Sailor Moon shuddered. "Can't we do something?"  
Sailor Mars and Tuxedo Mask both said a firm No at the same time and Sailor Mercury added, "We must stick to the plan. Everybody hold up your Dark Crystal Wedges and concentrate as hard as you can. No matter what happens."

They each had a Wedge in both hands. Back when they had first captured Mistrust's Wedge off her Raye had been studying it closely with her priestess powers. When they met Sapphire at the Youma's family home and seen the couple he had concealed in his pockets the Youma aliens had combined their magical energy with that of Sailor Mars to create others and they were now fighting with all their might to counteract the brainwashing of the Doom Phantom and his servant, thus turning their own weapons against them.  
They could sense that something was interfering with their mind control. They couldn't tell what it was or where it came from but the clan members were not giving in to them. They continued to protest and Prince Diamond said, "Where is the absolute proof that my brother is a traitor? What is your side of the story to his accusations?"  
Sapphire gasped and called out, "Diamond! Wiseman's the traitor! Ask him about Grim Man's true identity!"

At this both sinister figures shouted out loud. "SHUT UP TRAITOR!" And to the horror and dismay of all watching they both attacked Sapphire at once. The Doom Phantom threw his reaper's blade which spun around slicing Sapphire in two while the Wiseman's energy reduced the two halves to withered husks just like Doom and Gloom before their sister devoured them as a dragon.  
"SAPPHIRE!" Diamond screamed aghast.  
The Wiseman said, "Good riddance. Now I can carry on guarding our prisoners in Crystal Tokyo while the rest of you take care of things in the past."  
The Doom Phantom said, "Yes. Wicked Lady, Diamond and the rest of you come with me."  
Wicked Lady, who had been standing and watching the proceedings with amusement, responded, "I hear and obey my master."

She and the Doom Phantom dematerialized while the Wiseman's portal closed. Diamond and the Droids lingered behind looking upset. They were unaware of Tuxedo Mask and the Sailor Scouts hiding nearby. It had been terrible for even them to watch, but they had strict instructions to just keep aiming the Dark Crystal Wedges magic at the clan members.  
Diamond and the Droids slowly lowered themselves to the ground to gaze mournfully upon Sapphire's remains. But even as they reached the ground they were mysteriously fading away into thin air. Diamond was weeping and so were the Droids. Injector had changed into her human form so that she could safely cuddle together with the others in shared grief. Diamond turned to face them wrapping himself into a group hug and they cried on each other's shoulders for a few moments.

Then breaking apart he clenched his fists, ground his teeth and angrily said, "Wiseman. Grim Man."  
The Droids all reacted similarly, "Yes. They killed him in cold blood," snarled Regalia.  
"It's an outrage," exclaimed Marzipan.  
"Let's go and confront Grim Man," said Diamond and the Droids all vanished with him.

Sailor Moon and her friends all lowered their Wedges and bowed their heads. They knew that once the clan members were back with the Doom Phantom they would be easily influenced to believe that Sapphire had deserved to be executed.  
They had succeeded in helping Sapphire attempt to warn his brother and protect Prizma, her sisters and Birdy's friends with the help of the Youma family. Now they needed to make sure it had not been in vain.


	27. Chapter 27

CHAPTER 27

The Dark Crystal had grown so huge it could be seen from any place in the city. Everybody was beginning to get very worried and they were hoping that the Sailor Scouts would be able to do something soon.

Most people were staying indoors out of fear but Serena and her friends were on their way out of the city to confront the Doom Phantom and set Rini and the others free from evil influence. The Silver Imperium Crystal was working its most powerful magic to ensure that not only Serena's family, but the families of the other four girls all failed to realize they were absent. Even when anybody went and knocked on the doors to their rooms, he or she heard in their own minds, them saying "I'll be all right. I just want to be alone please." So all was well in that respect.

Tuxedo Mask had gone on ahead to spy things out and see if the Crystal had any weak point and Luna and Artemis were instructing the girls as they walked along to the boundary of the city line. "You use those Dark Crystal Wedges as well as you can. This is going to be a very tough battle and you must get Rini and the clan to turn against the Doom Phantom," said Luna.  
"We will both wait right here for you to return. Good luck Scouts," said Artemis.  
The five girls all promised solemnly to succeed and then they all transformed, Serena's friends used the special power upgrade they had received in Crystal Tokyo of course.  
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"  
"MARS STAR POWER!"  
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"  
"VENUS STAR POWER!"

Finally Serena herself transformed. "MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
The five Sailor Scouts all ran off towards the Dark Crystal proclaiming loudly.  
"We will triumph for the sake of our world!"  
"Our world in the future as well as here in the past!"  
"We will forever vanquish the Doom Phantom!"  
"And return Rini to her normal self!"  
"You don't suppose we could take a break at the first apple tree we come to? I could use a bite to eat before the battle."  
"SERENA!" Everybody admonished her. But Raye was the loudest of all the vocals.  
"Okay. Okay. I can wait." Serena groaned quietly to herself as they all disappeared from Artemis and Luna's sight and sound.  
Luna sighed. "Sometimes I worry about Serena Artemis. But thank goodness she's not the only Sailor Scout."  
"I agree Luna. If her friends didn't keep her in line she would be defeated by her own selfish vices."

Tuxedo Mask was waiting for them when they arrived. "Sailor Scouts! The clan members, Rini and the Doom Phantom are all inside this enormous crystal. It has stopped growing and now they are using it as a fortress."  
"Can we get inside Tuxedo Mask?" asked Sailor Jupiter.  
"I think so. When I first saw them they were about to fight me, but the Doom Phantom commanded them to retreat and prepare an attack when you all arrived. You'd better all combine your powers to teleport us inside before they come out and hit hard with whatever they've got."  
The Scouts all quickly joined hands encircling Tuxedo Mask and shouted out their planets star powers once more. As soon as Sailor Moon cried out her Moon Crystal Power, they began to shimmer and performed Sailor Teleport taking Tuxedo Mask inside the Dark Crystal with them.

Inside they all looked around to behold many pathways with crystal shards reflecting their images. None of their enemies were to be seen. "This looks like a maze of some kind," said Sailor Mars.  
"It reminds me of a Hall of Mirrors in a carnival sideshow," said Sailor Mercury.  
"All of you make sure your Dark Crystal Wedges are safely tucked inside your pockets," said Tuxedo Mask.  
Sailor Moon stepped forward saying, "Let's try this direction. Follow me."

Just as Sailor Venus said, "Take care Sailor Moon. We should all stick together," a trap portal suddenly opened up under Sailor Moon's feet and with a shriek she fell through the hole.  
Tuxedo Mask and her friends ran over to it, but the portal closed over immediately.  
"Oh no! Sailor Moon!" Sailor Jupiter was aghast.  
"Where could she be?" Sailor Mars gasped.  
Sailor Mercury produced her data computer out of her pocket. "I'll try to pinpoint her location and find a way to get there."  
Tuxedo Mask was worried. "I hope she'll be all right. She only has two Wedges."

Sailor Moon slid down a long slide that spun her round and round in circles until she finally shot out of a big hole at the end and landed staggeringly on her feet in a large chamber. "W-where am I?"  
"You're in our parlour Sailor Moon."  
She turned at the sound of the voice to see Prince Diamond and the Droids standing nearby in a corner. It had been Regalia who had spoken. Prince Diamond sneered at her. "Now we will kill you Sailor Moon and then we'll kill your friends one by one. Get her Droids!"  
Animal Instinct was the first to approach brandishing her whip. As she cracked it Sailor Moon ran as fast as she could to the side and it only just barely missed her. Marzipan aimed for the floor by her feet and sent some slippery custard to make her slide and fall over onto her back. Thinking fast she knew the Dark Crystal Wedges were her only chance and she reached into her pockets and pulled them out, sitting up and raising them high just as Injector and Regalia were preparing to fire their needles and rings at her simultaneously.  
They were pulled up short as the magic began to wash over them revealing the truth to them.  
"What are you hesitating for?" yelled Prince Diamond as the other Droids stepped forward. Sailor Moon concentrated very hard. "Oh Silver Imperium Crystal. I channel your power through these two wedges. Free these people from the Doom Phantom's deception once and for all."

All of them, including Diamond himself, were completely washed over and gasped, closing their eyes and flinching. They all remembered what Sapphire had been trying to tell them before their "mentors" had silenced him. They recalled his insistence that they had been used for evil purposes and their anger at his violently cruel demise.  
They became angry and wrathful once more and also dismayed. If the Wiseman and Grim Man had killed their families then Sailor Moon had never been their enemy at all.  
"We have been deceived by those two monsters," said Regalia.  
"Sailor Moon is innocent," declared Mistrust.  
Prince Diamond began to cry again. "My poor brother. He was so brave and we couldn't save him."  
"We won't fight you or your friends anymore Sailor Moon," said Injector and the other Droids all chorused their mutual agreement.

Sailor Moon began to smile and started to speak to them, but suddenly the Doom Phantom materialized along with the holographic image of the Wiseman. Their eyes glowed bright red and they both spoke.  
"You lot don't listen to this silly girl. She's putting farfetched ideas into your heads."  
"Destroy her now. We have important work to do."  
"That won't work anymore," said Diamond.  
"We are immune to your brainwashing now," said Animal Instinct.  
"You killed our loved ones," said Marzipan.

Seeing that it was no use the Wiseman replied, "No matter. We no longer need any of you idiots. Now that we have Wicked Lady on our side, our victory is completely assured."  
The Doom Phantom bragged. "It was so easy to magically sabotage the mechanisms of the time-travel spaceship so that it blew up killing Rubeus and both his friends. And Emerald was influenced to not save them when she could have. Later we personally killed her and her brothers."  
"You evil brutes!" Diamond shouted.  
Mistrust screamed, "We trusted you!"  
Regalia yelled, "Now we shall avenge our families and our friends!"

The five Droids all rose into the air to attack just as the Wiseman's image shot out the usual deadly energy from his crystal ball. "You can't actually harm me because I'm not physically present. I'm projecting my image from the future. But I can kill you."  
His words were proved right as Injector's needles and Regalia's rings passed right through him. But they were hit by his energy and screamed in pain before dissolving into dust leaving only their Dark gems that fell to the floor .  
"NO!" Diamond shrieked and Sailor Moon gasped.  
Marzipan and Animal Instinct both attempted to attack the Grim Man as they knew him. But he swung his weapon deflecting the spray of cakes and the whip before throwing it at them. "As for me I am invincible. I am the Doom Phantom!"  
The two Droids never even heard what he said as the blade spun through the air, tearing them apart and they became dust too leaving their gems behind.  
Mistrust desperately summoned up her clones to keep Wiseman busy, but the Doom Phantom had his weapon in hand and decided to go for Sailor Moon. She had been watching horrified and before she knew it the weapon was spinning at her. She screamed in terror but Diamond threw himself in front of her as a shield. Even he was not hit because before he knew it Mistrust had thrown herself ahead to shield him. The blade killed her instantly and she became dust. Her clones all permanently faded away before Wiseman could even dispell them.

Sailor Moon instinctively reacted while Diamond fell to his knees with an anguished scream. Producing her scepter from her tiara she attacked the Doom Phantom. "MOON SCEPTER ELIMINATION!" The Doom Phantom was blown away, but the Wiseman chuckled knowing he would come back soon. Sailor Moon ran to embrace and comfort poor Diamond. "Now they're all dead. Just like my brother and almost all the friends we grew up with." He sobbed and Sailor Moon was crying also.

The Wiseman came up behind them and as the Doom Phantom reformed his body a few feet further back, the former began to laugh getting Sailor Moon's attention. As she turned he held up his crystal ball and exclaimed, "Take a look at what your sweetheart is doing while you're sobbing and trying to comfort this big baby Diamond!"  
Sailor Moon gasped as she saw her Tuxedo Mask in the crystal holding hands with Wicked Lady. "He's come over to our side because his love for Wicked Lady is more important than his love for you."  
Sailor Moon screamed. "NO! YOU'RE LYING! Tuxedo Mask would never join you. Not my dear Darien."  
The Doom Phantom said, "But it is true. He's one of us now."  
Sailor Moon realized they were attempting to brainwash her and she felt the wedges in her pocket. Standing in front of the weeping Diamond to protect him she raised her voice defiantly. "I don't believe for an instant that Tuxedo Mask has gone over to you. As for Rini, she only became Wicked Lady due to your brainwashing. I vow to do whatever it takes to set her free."

Before either opponent could make any reply a familiar voice shouted out, "And so will I!"  
"Tuxedo Mask! It's you!"  
"Don't forget about us."  
Sailor Mercury had successfully discovered a way to get to where Sailor Moon was and she had led the others as fast as they could go.  
Tuxedo Mask brandished his cane. "I'm sick of your lies and deceptions. You think you're so wise Wiseman. But I'll show you how wise you and your pet Doom Phantom really are."  
The Sailor Scouts all added together at once, "We'll show you that your false wisdom spells doom for you both."

Suddenly Wicked Lady appeared out of thin air above them all laughing. "HAHAHAHAHA! It's futile you Sailor Saps."  
"Rini!" cried Sailor Moon.  
"Please listen to us!" begged Sailor Venus.  
But she shouted, "I have the power bestowed upon me to destroy you in the Name of the Doom Phantom. As soon as I get warmed up you will all die instantly. Then this past world and Crystal Tokyo in the future will belong to the Doom Phantom and his servant the Wiseman."

They begged and pleaded with her to stop. But it was no use. Their enemies laughed evilly while Wicked Lady prepared to charge up her attack. Diamond was sitting on the floor crying in despair with his head in his hands. What could they possibly do to save themselves from death at the hands of brainwashed Rini?


	28. Chapter 28

CHAPTER 28

Things were looking very bad for Sailor Moon and her friends. Wicked Lady raised her arms above her head as she floated in mid-air. "Doom Phantom! I am ready! Fill me with power from the Dark Crystal so I can destroy our enemies!"  
"Rini stop! We're not your enemies!" shouted Sailor Moon.  
Sailor Mercury cried urgently, "The Crystal Wedges! They're our only chance!"  
Everybody reached into their pockets and produced two each. Holding them in front of them up towards Wicked Lady they began to concentrate.

The Wiseman and the Doom Phantom both laughed however. "We can see what you're trying to do and since we know we can neutralize those Wedges."  
"Yes, we had commanded Sapphire to construct them for our own purposes. We designed them and we know how to counteract them. It's not like the last time when you were hidden and we didn't realize what was happening."  
At the mention of his brother's name Diamond began to wail and sob harder than ever and the Wedges began to lose almost all their power as the two evil beings sent psychic waves down upon them.

Wicked Lady was laughing as she slowly descended to the floor. "It's true. You can't brainwash me. Any moment now I will be empowered enough to destroy you."  
Sailor Moon was very upset. "But we love you Rini."  
"That's right. You're being manipulated," implored Tuxedo Mask.  
Wicked Lady began to scoff with scorn. "You're lying. You don't love me. Nobody has ever loved me except the Wiseman and the Doom Phantom. All my life I've been friendless. Now they will be my friends forever."  
Sailor Moon magnanimously tried to appeal to her. "I know sometimes I've been guilty of selfishness. But deep down I really do care for you Rini."  
"Shut up you Meatball-Head!" As Sailor Moon recoiled with a wince Wicked Lady said, "I've had enough lies. I'll do away with your masked boy toy first."  
"No Rini!" Sailor Mars shouted.  
"Don't do this," begged Sailor Mercury.  
Sailor Jupiter and Sailor Venus added. "Please!"  
"You simply can't!"  
The Doom Phantom screamed. "Enough dilly dally. Wicked Lady! Do it now!"  
Wicked Lady felt the Dark power coursing through her veins and raising her hands, prepared to blast Tuxedo Mask where he stood.

But before she could do anything another voice yelled as loud as could be. "NO! WE WON"T LET THIS HAPPEN!"  
Everybody turned towards the direction the voice was coming from. Wiseman, Doom Phantom, Wicked Lady and Diamond were all dumbfounded with disbelief to see who had just spoken, but not Tuxedo Mask or the Sailor Scouts.  
"My brother," gasped Diamond. "Is it really you?"  
"How can it be?" spluttered the Wiseman.  
"We killed him!" The Doom Phantom was in genuine dismay for once.

It was indeed Sapphire and he wasn't alone. Catzi, Birdy, Avery, Prizma, Rebecca, Julie, Jed, Tweetus, Dorothy and Jordan were all inside the middle of the Dark Crystal. They all held up two Crystal Wedges each except Jordan who was holding Rini's old blue ball. Sailor Pluto's familiar image was projected from it with her deadly scythe held in her hands. "Sailor Moon!" She yelled. "You and your friends add the power of your Wedges to our allies Wedges and my magic powers. Together we will break the negative influence of the Doom Phantom and restore Small Lady to normal."

Wicked Lady pressed her hands to her head and grimaced groaning like she had a headache as the Dark Wedges were all directed at her with a much lighter purpose of intent. The Wiseman desperately tried to counteract them and the Doom Phantom too.  
The Doom Phantom attempted to throw his deadly weapon at all the enemies while they had their Wedges in both their hands. However Sailor Pluto zoomed very fast connected to the ball Jordan was holding by an illuminated beam at her feet to intercept. She raised and swung downwards with her scythe and the blade of it neatly chopped the Doom Phantom's own blade in two. As the pieces clattered to the floor Wiseman yelled albeit with a note of panic.  
"Ignore their lies Wicked Lady. They don't care about you. They never have. Remember how alone you always were?"  
Wicked Lady was in a very close battle of wills but the brainwashing did begin to gain the upper hand. "No! I see things clearly now. You all treated me like dirt and I'm going to punish you for it."

Everybody begged her not to believe the Wiseman. "It's not true Rini."  
"We do love you."  
"You must resist this evil."  
Sailor Moon cried, "I must do something to free her."  
Sailor Pluto called out, "With my help you can Sailor Moon. You can heal Small Lady of the bitter root of jealousy that is being used by the Doom Phantom to turn her against us. You too Tuxedo Mask."  
Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon turned to face each other and linked arms. "Let's do it Sailor Moon."  
She smiled. "Yeah. We're ready Sailor Pluto."

Sailor Pluto concentrated as hard as she could and sent powerful magic straight at the pair of them. Before the startled eyes of Wicked Lady and everybody else they were enveloped in golden light and when it faded they changed.  
Sailor Jupiter gasped. "They've become the exact images of their future selves!"  
"The King and Queen of Crystal Tokyo!" exclaimed Sailor Mercury.  
Wicked Lady lowered her arms from their threatening gesture and walked towards them despite protests from the Wiseman and Doom Phantom. "Daddy? Mummy? Is it really you?"  
Wicked Lady heard the voices of her parents in the future coming from the mouths of the two people before her. "It is us Rini."  
"We are speaking to you via the bodies of our past selves."  
"Everything will be all right."  
"Come to us."

The sight of her parents and the power of the Crystal Wedges and Sailor Pluto had a liberating effect upon Wicked Lady. The Wiseman was powerless to overcome it. She walked up to them and threw herself into their arms.  
"Oh my Mummy. My Daddy. I've missed you so very much. I tried my very best to get hold of the Silver Imperium Crystal in the past and bring it to the future to replace the one I lost. It - it was all my fault that our peaceful world was invaded and you were placed in comatose sleep Mummy."  
She began to cry and weep. "I disobeyed you because I was jealous of you. I wanted your popularity. I thought if I just held the Crystal in my hands, its magic would bestow me with gifts of beauty and wisdom as I grew up. I didn't know it would disappear when I touched it. Please forgive me."

As she sobbed in their arms the king and queen looked at each other in amazed and joyful surprise. The king said, "Of course we forgive you dear daughter. But this is actually wonderful news."  
Wicked Lady raised her tear-filled eyes and said, "Huh?"  
The queen explained. "Yes it is. Because though none of us knew it you've had the Crystal all the time."  
"I don't understand."  
"Your father and I had arranged with the four Guardian Warriors to install a magical defence mechanism against the Crystal being destroyed. If anybody touched it without authorization, it would go inside the body of the perpetrator. Not even Sailor Pluto knew about this, but we would be able to use the charms of Sailor Mars to identify the culprit and extract it from them privately without them even being aware of how we'd recovered it."  
The king finished the story. "When the enemy attacked we tried our best to discover who had the Crystal in them, but you were the last person we suspected. So we never tested the charms on you."  
The queen then said, "I can get it now and use it to heal you of the guilt of your jealousy Rini. MOON CRYSTAL HEALING ACTIVATION!"  
The Wiseman and the Doom Phantom screamed in wrath as a bright light surrounded Wicked Lady, the king and the queen. When it faded there was Tuxedo Mask again, with Sailor Moon by his side. Wicked Lady was purified and little Rini was cradled in Sailor Moon's arms. There were two Silver Crystals. Sailor Moon's own crystal hung around her neck contained in her moon locket of course, and when she put Rini down everybody stared in wonderment along with her at the small, bright gem she held in her little hands. The Silver Imperium Crystal of Crystal Tokyo.

Diamond climbed to his feet and ran over to his brother joyfully. "Sapphire!"  
"Diamond!"  
As the two brothers embraced, the four sisters and Birdy's two friends joined them all in an enormous group hug. The Wiseman and the Doom Phantom were staring down at Rini and Sailor Moon.  
"Two Silver Crystals?!"

"It doesn't matter," said the Doom Phantom. "You can channel your magic through me and our combined power will tap into the Dark Crystal we have created. We shall destroy them all including that persistent nuisance we thought we'd already done away with."  
Sailor Moon gritted her teeth. "You shall never succeed. For the sake of the future Moon Kingdom established here on earth and for love and justice, I shall vanquish you. MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"  
The Silver Crystal extricated itself from Sailor Moon's locket and she clasped it in her hands like a cup. Holding it upwards she concentrated hard and it glowed a very bright white. The Wiseman also exerted all his powers into his crystal ball. They shot out at the Doom Phantom bathing him in ethereal rays. The Doom Phantom gestured with his hands and the Dark Crystal began to pulsate and glow.  
Sailor Moon grunted, gritting her teeth as she fought to repel the dark attack.

Rini shouted, "Sailor Moon needs help. What can we do?"  
Sailor Pluto said, "Small Lady. You have the power to use your own Crystal. Believe in yourself and the rest of us will fight alongside you."  
Tuxedo Mask said, "Sailor Pluto's right. We must all fight against him with everything we have between us. Even you Rini."  
The Sailor Scouts stood up together in a row and clasped their hands holding up two of their Wedges on each end. "Get ready to join Sailor Moon as soon as we power up," said Sailor Mars.  
"And let's hurry," urged Sailor Jupiter. "She is getting exhausted fast."  
Indeed Sailor Moon was gritting her teeth and her body was beginning to be drenched with perspiration from the effort she was making against the Doom Phantom.

Rini took one glance and knew she had no other choice. Gripping her Silver Crystal she said, "Let's do it."  
"All of us," shouted Jed raising his Wedges and everybody else did too. Tweetus picked up Jordan under her left arm after giving Diamond her second Wedge. Sapphire quickly directed his brother in how to use it. Jordan added his psychic concentration to his mother's and the blue ball lay on the ground with Sailor Pluto's image above it raising her scythe high above her head.

The combined attack began.  
"MERCURY STAR POWER!"  
"MARS STAR POWER!"  
"JUPITER STAR POWER!"  
"VENUS STAR POWER!"  
All their other allies raised their Wedges high above their heads focussing upon magnifying the strength of the Sailor Scouts and the Silver Crystal. As Rini ran up alongside Sailor Moon she shouted, "Serena! Combine your attack with me!"  
"Th-thank you Rini." Sailor Moon stammered her gratitude just before Rini held up her Crystal and the two of them shouted together.  
"MOON CRYSTAL POWER!"

The Wiseman laughed maniacally. "Try all you like. None of you can match the power of the Doom Phantom."  
It certainly was a difficult battle. The Wiseman's power infused the Doom Phantom extremely mightily and everybody grunted and strained as they pushed back against the Dark Crystal's magic as if they were fighting an enormous tug of war contest.

For one horrible moment the Doom Phantom came close to exterminating Sailor Moon and Rini. They only just barely managed to halt the deadly blast before it reached them.  
The Doom Phantom yelled out loud. "Eventually I will weaken you and you will all die!"  
The others were desperately trying to concentrate, but it had greatly startled them when the Doom Phantom had come close to triumph just now.  
"Don't give up everybody. Fight together," urged Sailor Pluto as the Wiseman roared in anticipation of victory.

Then Tuxedo Mask did something entirely unexpected. Abandoning his own Wedges, he threw them to the floor and reaching into his vest produced a dozen roses. Before the Doom Phantom knew it the roses impaled themselves in various places on his body all at once. "YEEEEEOOOWWWWLL!"  
As he writhed and twisted with pain and shock, Sailor Moon and Rini took the opportunity to attack hard with their friends all behind them.  
"Doom Phantom!"  
"Begone forevermore!"  
The two Silver Crystals illuminated the Doom Phantom and all the Crystal Wedges glowed brightly. As the power began to dispel the Doom Phantom and the Dark Crystal also vanished, the Wiseman screamed. "This can't be happening! The Doom Phantom can't be defeated! Not just because of a bunch of flowers!"  
Then as the Phantom and the Crystal vanished utterly, the portal projecting the Wiseman's image from the future suddenly snapped shut.  
"We did it Rini," cried Sailor Moon. "We all did it. The Doom Phantom is destroyed. Never to return again."

Everybody cheered for joy and Rini said, "We must give special thanks to Tuxedo Mask. Without his personal attack we may have been defeated." Loud cheers sounded out in praise for Tuxedo Mask. Then when they settled down Diamond wanted to know how his brother was still alive.  
"You were dead Sapphire. I saw your withered carcass."  
Sapphire smiled. "No, you believed you saw my withered carcass Diamond. It was all the work of these people here with some assistance from Sailor Mars."

He indicated Jed, Tweetus, Dorothy and Jordan. "They are alien beings born on a far-away planet. They combined their special powers with the magic of Sailor Mars to create an artificial replica of my body. It appeared so realistically. You merely heard my voice psychically projected into it from where I was hiding out at the aliens' home. Sailor Mars had set up a replica of her temple's sacred fire in their own fireplace, so we were able to keep watch over what happened while we transferred my voice to the copy."  
As Diamond silently gasped in amazement Sapphire finished. "That's why my "body" faded away before you could so much as touch it. You were too griefstricken to realize, but if it had been real, it would not have vanished so mysteriously like that."  
Diamond hugged his brother joyfully. "I will be eternally grateful to these wonderful aliens Sapphire. Thanks to them you are alive! And I'm alive, along with our six friends!"  
The four sisters and two ex-Droids ran to them and they all cuddled while Sailor Moon and everybody else looked on smiling.

Suddenly a voice spoke out. "Yes. You eight are alive. But the rest of us are all dead as dead can be."  
Turning in the direction of the voice, everybody gasped to see that it was Rubeus who had spoken. Emerald was standing next to him. On their left were Emerald's brothers, Fred and George along with Tamara and Connie, in their human forms before becoming Droids and on their right were all the other Droids bunched together. All of them now in their original human appearances, including the lady who had looked like a sticky red jelly person. The former Jellax.

"Are-are you really all d-d-dead?" stammered Diamond.  
Emerald, acting as spokesman together with Rubeus, answered, "Yes we are dear Diamond. But in death we are free from the negative brainwashing that had been placed upon us."  
Rubeus added, "And we have all forgiven each other for anything we did to hurt any of us while under that influence. We are now all at peace."  
Emerald finished. "We are all going to join our families on the other side. But we wanted to say goodbye and let you know how happy we are that you, at least, have a chance to live out the rest of your lives together and that the Doom Phantom will never harm anybody ever again."

Then Rini suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! Where did Trista go?" It was true. Sailor Pluto had vanished and all eyes were on Rini as she ran over to her ball and picked it up. "Trista? Sailor Pluto? Where are you?" She desperately called into the radio receiver.  
Suddenly Sailor Pluto's voice spoke out of it. "I am back in the future Small Lady. I have helped your friends, the four guardians arrest the wizard calling himself the Wiseman. Your mother's spell is broken and your father and all the people of Crystal Tokyo are free now."  
Rini laughed with immense joy and Sailor Moon asked, "What is going to happen to the wizard?"  
Sailor Pluto replied, "As soon as the Doom Phantom was obliterated, he lost all the extra dark sorcery bestowed upon him by the fearful entity. His body is no longer mystical and transparent. He's ordinary flesh and blood like he was at first. I was able to help the guardians overpower his little bit of original magic like before. As for his fate, he doesn't know it yet, but he's going to be sentenced to a far more secure banishment then the asteroid this time. We're going to use one of his own strobes to send him permanently into the limbo zone it will open. He will spend the rest of his life trapped there unable to cause any trouble in the future or any other time period either."

Everybody gave expressions of celebration upon hearing this, including the ghosts. Then Sailor Pluto said, "It's time to come home Small Lady. I have sent two special people through the Door of Time to take you back."  
Before Rini could say anything two figures she recognized materialized before her eyes. "DADDY! MUMMY!" She threw herself into the arms of her parents, the rulers of Crystal Tokyo.  
Sailor Moon's counterpart, the Queen, looked at them all and then addressed her in particular. "Thank you for looking after our daughter. I will always remember how much gratitude I owe myself when I think about the old days."  
The King said, "Thank you one and all. Small Lady, our Silver Crystal will be the key that will send us back home. Let us all touch it and channel power through Sailor Pluto."  
Rini turned and began to cry. "Thank you my dear friends." Looking at Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask she sobbed. "Thank you D-daddy and M-m-mummy."  
Sailor Moon began to cry as they vanished but Tuxedo Mask put a hand on her shoulder. "It's not really goodbye forever. She'll be waiting for us when we catch up to our future time."  
She wiped her eyes and smiled at him. "Of course. That's right."

As the ghosts all shared mournful moments of farewell with their surviving friends, the tears came back to Sailor Moon's eyes and her friends cried too. Even Tuxedo Mask. Catzi wept bitterly speaking to Rubeus and Diamond wept too upon hearing from Emerald how she had come to love him deeply before her death. But then the Sailor Scouts and Darien all felt anger at the Wiseman and then smug satisfaction at the knowledge of what awaited him. It was a bittersweet triumph.

POSTSCRIPT

Three months had passed since that glorious tragic day. Prizma and Sapphire were married and they had joined the other three sisters in entering into a partnership with Rebecca. Together they were all managing a Beauty and Cosmetics business franchise. As for Diamond, he had found comfort in the companionship of Birdy's other friend Julie. They bought their own ice cream parlour and managed it as a husband and wife team. They were all comforted mutually in their grief and enjoyed their brand new lives.

Things had been very peaceful, but they were not to last. An aeroplane was coming to Tokyo containing three significant passengers. A young seven year old girl named Hotaru Tomoe sat in between her parents in their seats. They were scientists and they were feeling very dejected. For the past year they had been travelling overseas dragging their daughter with them to England and France attempting to persuade their fellow scientists in these two wealthy countries to give them financial support for some very unique experiments. Professor Souchi Tomoe proposed to create living, breathing creatures inside test tubes using samples of his wife Kaori's blood mixed with chemical compounds. However nobody would take them seriously. They were laughed and ridiculed out of every science academy. Sometimes they were jeeringly called Dr. and Mrs. Frankenstein. It upset them very much. They longed to pursue their dreams but nobody would give them the means to do so. In the end they gave up and were coming home to Tokyo to brood. Hotaru was depressed. She hated seeing her parents so miserable.

But in another city ten miles out from Tokyo a coven of witches were meeting in a deserted derelict house. They had drawn a pentagram on the floor and were dancing and chanting around it. Then they heard two voices speaking out of thin air. "This is Germatoid and Mistress 9."  
"We have good news for you witches."  
"What is it mighty evil spirits? Tell us your humble servants," said one witch with long, red hair.

One of the eerie voices addressed her. "Eudial. We have sensed the presence of the perfect people we need for our plans. They will be in Tokyo by seven o'clock tonight. You and the rest of the Witches Five must go. Mistress 9 and I will guide you to them. They will be eager to give us any assistance we need in exchange for what they want more than anything in return."  
Eudial said, "You can count on us oh great ones." The other Witches echoed in chorus.  
"We are your loyal servants."


End file.
